Having too much information on your website can deter potential customers. In order to create an intuitive website, it’s important to understand who is using your website. Enter: customer journey mapping - a great way to gain an understanding of what you should add or remove on your website.
When a user visits your website, they have some pre-existing knowledge of what to expect. This is their ‘current knowledge’. ‘Target knowledge’ is the information they require in order to use your website. The difference between the two is the knowledge gap you want to bridge.
Intuitive design is where a user's current knowledge and the target knowledge is identical, meaning the user has the knowledge to operate the website and reach their objectives. Customer Journey Mapping is a great tool you can use to gain a stronger understanding of the gap and what you need to do to bridge it.
A customer journey map highlights a customer’s experience with your website from the first touch point to the last. The map should identify key interactions and the different emotions and questions that might spring into the customer’s mind.
Not only will mapping the customer journey give the web designer and the manager better understandings of how customers move through the digital sales funnel, it’s a powerful planning tool that allows you to understand the journey through the customer’s eyes. Using this knowledge, you can remove superfluous functions to reduce barriers and to simplify your web design.
Often presented as an info graphic, these maps will help set the foundation for how your website will be laid out and which functionalities you choose to incorporate.
Your goal should be for your customer to navigate your website easily without meeting any barriers when they search for information. Your website should have familiar functionalities and an intuitive web flow that’s user-centric.