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User Flow

A map of the sequence of steps and decisions a user moves through to complete a task, from entry point to goal.

Process & Methods

A user flow diagrams the path to a goal — sign up, make a payment, book a call — as a series of screens, actions, and branching decisions. It exposes the length and complexity of a task before any screen is designed, making unnecessary steps and dead ends obvious.

Flows are the connective tissue between information architecture and wireframes. Shortening a critical flow is one of the most reliable ways to lift conversion: every removed step is a place users can no longer drop off.

In practice

Mapping “invite a teammate” in a B2B app exposes what no single screen shows: nine steps, including an email round-trip and a permissions picker most users don't understand. Two branches dead-end — an expired-link state with no re-send, and an edge case where the invitee lands on a signup page with no context. Cutting the flow to four steps and fixing both dead-ends lifted team activation; the map made the problem undeniable before a pixel moved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related terms

Information ArchitectureThe structural design of a product's content and navigation — how information is organized, labeled, and grouped so people can find it.WireframingSketching the low-fidelity skeleton of a screen — layout, content blocks, and hierarchy — before any visual styling is applied.Conversion FunnelThe staged path users take toward a goal — visit, sign up, activate, pay — where measuring drop-off at each step reveals where to improve.OnboardingThe designed experience that guides a new user from first launch to their first real success with a product.