A web design flowchart in easy words consists of different steps a user must follow to reach a goal. The reason why flow charts are important and why we need them is because they are required for the design process. Web developers could get confused while designing web pages but flow charts make it easier for them to work out problems in a matter of time.

Remember, user flow and user journey are two different things;

User flow

User flow is the visual that involves all points of user interactions that might take place on your website. Before designing the website, your UX team must know how the users will navigate it. The site should be designed to address the users’ needs and goals.

User journey

User flow covers the purchase environment, from offline influences to online advertisements. The user flow is limited to the time spent on your website or app, but the User Journey continues even after the visitor leaves your website.

What is a UX flowchart?

As mentioned before, UX teams determine the viewer’s needs and decide how they want the visitors to use their website. To better understand your visitor’s needs, you need to analyze what visitors expect and what kind of experience they would like to have on your website.

User diagrams are important to:

Help communicate in a simple way how the user flow is supposed to be
Help users not to miss out on any of the important steps in the course
Have users be able to make decisions and create alternate decisions at low fidelity before spending too much time and effort on design
Attain feedback from various stakeholders

In simpler words, creating a web design flowchart for a much more productive web design process is best if you want to save yourself the trouble of figuring it out.

What are the 4 types of flowcharts?

1. Process flowchart/communication flowchart

This type of flowchart is the simplest of the four types of flowcharts. They can be used for anything. They include generic language that everyone understands and explain how an organization functions. The process web design flowchart further helps outline the team members’ duties.

This flowchart also helps one understand how information and data are transferred within an organization, helps to create a scope for a new project, and explains how manufacturing processes are carried out to create a particular product. You can search for website flowchart template free online.

2. The Workflow chart/ workflow diagram

This flowchart type portrays how an organization operates and what procedure the product goes through. The workflow chart is mainly used to help train incoming workers, analyze problematic areas, help you organize a team towards one goal, and provide clarity regarding the operations conducted within a business.

3. The Swimlane flowchart

This type of flowchart is helpful when you want to show several flow diagrams alongside the information it carries. Although it is almost similar to the workflow chart, this one particular flowchart does one thing the workflow chart does not: it helps build distinct categories with different activities. The Swimlane flowchart further assists in recording the entire procedure that interacts with other segments of an organization.

4. The data flowchart

Lastly, this flowchart shows how data is being processed within an organization. It is most useful while designing or figuring out a system and how it is arranged. The data flowchart also helps determine information flow despite the number of team members involved in the design and development.

Flowcharts for web designing or programming

Flowcharts used for web designing can be used to:

Tell users how to navigate a page or how to use a certain application
Explains how a particular code is created and used
Describes the flow of data through a system
Envision an algorithm

Flowcharts for sales and marketing

Web design Flowcharts can be used in many ways, but for sales, they are used to:

Record policies or plans of communication
Help in identifying opportunities that are based on data
Show different sales processes and how opportunity moves through a process in a business
Finally, guide sales representatives and their decisions regarding pricing or what quotes to use for customers

Flowcharts for manufacturing

In manufacturing, web design flowcharts are essential to use to:

Explain how manufacturing processes are carried out
Show all ingredients, such as what chemicals are used in creating a product
Provide reassurance about the quality of the evaluation processґ

Flowcharts for Business operations

Your team will need help from web design flowcharts to:

Describe difficult tasks for employees and how they should be done
Map out the order and fulfillment processes
Explain how a certain project is to be completed

Flowcharts for education

Web design Flowcharts (flowchart online) can be created by an academic counselor or educator to:

Plan coursework or homework for students
Map out other academic requirements
Plan a day’s lesson or a class presentation
Organize a group or team for projects or even solo projects
Plan a task such as creative writing, quizzes, etc.
Layout the symptoms and treatment for various diseases or disorders
Teach technical formulas, theories, or hypothesis
Demonstrate character development for the students
Show a legal process, for example: how votes are cast
Plan study groups and discussions

How do you make a flowchart for a website?

Following listed are the steps to create web design flowcharts/ flow diagrams for your website:

1. Set out your and your user’s objectives

You cannot make an efficient flowchart if you do not know what your users expect from your website. You may know your business objective, have your target audience view your products, and sign up to get recent updates, but that will still not be enough if you fail to meet your website’s visitors’ demand. Therefore, you must determine your and your user’s objectives.

2. Determine how your users will end up finding your website

To strengthen and improve your website, you may as well have to look at the data closely. The google analytics tool will help you map out the percentages for entry methods like paid advertising, social media, user traffic, emails, reference sites, etc. Once you look at the percentages, you can identify which entry method requires more improvement and what the data reveal about your users.

3. Know what kind of information your viewers require and when

Once you create a flowchart, it is important to identify the type of information your viewers need and how to display it. To turn your website visitors into loyal customers, you need to give them the right information that keeps them engaged and they do not get tired of it. Put yourself in the user’s shoes and ask yourself the questions you think would be important to identify their requirements and interests.

4. Lay out your user flow

Once you have completed the first three steps, you will have a target audience interested in what your website is offering. Once you have an audience, you can identify what motivates them and the pattern they follow while performing various actions. This is the point where you can finally start designing a flow chart.

You may want a clear flowchart template where you would easily drag and attach shapes in a position and create opportunities to help your users. You may want to use different shapes that indicate entry points and others, so the user and yourself do not get confused. Not to forget, the styles evolve almost all the time, so you may want to keep a check on your flow diagram and change it according to the user’s interests to keep them scrolling through your website.

5. Collect as much feedback, confirm, and share

Gathering feedback about your work is always better. Consult those who know how to create web flowcharts; it is better to gain feedback. If changes are required, adjustments should be made accordingly. When your flowchart has been finalized and gained positive feedback, you can confirm it and share it on your website.

What are the 5 elements of a flowchart?

The elements of a web design flowchart include:

The start of the process; when a project begins
End nodes; are the times when a project ends
Stages of project development; activities that are carried out in the process
Connectors; the flow of the project

5 symbols of a flowchart

Following listed are the 5 basic symbols to denote elements to create stunning flowcharts:

1.	The oval or pill	This element or symbol is mainly used at the flowchart’s beginning or end. It is also known as the terminator or what represents the entire flowchart, the start, and end of the process displayed on your screen.
2.	The parallelogram	This symbol indicates or represents the input or output of the information displayed.
3.	The rectangle	The rectangle represents various other steps in the process represented by the flow chart. In other words, continued steps within the diagram.
4.	The arrow	The arrow indicates the flow of the direction of the particular process shown by a diagram.
5.	The diamond	The diamond is what indicates what a decision is in the process. The last bit of the flowchart is denoted by a diamond shape.

These symbols are included in various website flowchart template free.

Planning on creating a website navigation flowchart or a micro flowchart for your web page is not just a great idea but is also simple, easy, and intuitive. You do not have to do much but figure out what your website users expect from you, what they require, what your objectives are as a person and as a business, and eventually, drag shapes and arrows across the space, connect the lines, and you are good to go.

Key Takeaway

When you create a website flowcharts it can be used to program or brainstorm a product or a business idea. It can be used to train new employees for a job they must do or complete a project. It can be used for academic purposes, especially for instructors, to manufacture a product and what steps to follow to create it or to overview a group presentation. Use a website navigation flowchart for any of the purposes mentioned above, and you will save yourself the time and energy required to keep the entire team on the same page, achieve your marketing goal or improve the functionality of your website.

As beginners, you can always find tutorials on how to design a flowchart, find a website flowchart template free, a website flowchart generator, or a free flowchart maker.

How to Create a Web Design Flowchart [Free Templates]