Conversion Optimization
How To Stop Users Leaving Your Website - The Leaky Funnel P.1
Summary
Storytelling enhances brand identity by building emotional connections, differentiating the brand, and fostering loyalty. Through compelling narratives, brandThis article introduces the first part of a two-part series on fixing leaky conversion funnels by designing better user journeys. It covers the foundations of the website user journey—from landing pages to post-conversion engagement—and how to map, analyze, and identify friction points using tools like analytics and heatmaps. A real-world case study from Travelstart shows how a small UX tweak (a progress bar) led to a 4.41% increase in bookings, proving that even minor changes can significantly impact revenue. The article encourages businesses to dig into user behavior, collect insights, and prioritize improvements for sustainable CRO results.s can effectively communicate their values, engage their audience, and create a memorable and impactful presence.
Introduction
Imagine seeing your website through your customers' eyes, understanding each step they take, every pain point they face, and every part that makes them happy.
How To Stop Users Leaving Your Website - The Leaky Funnel is about creating a clear, inviting path that naturally leads to conversion.
In the next few chapters, we’ll do our best to guide you through the process of designing and maintaining an efficient and optimized user journey on your website.
Chapter 1: Understanding the User Journey
What even is a user journey?
It is simply the sequence of interactions that a user has with your brand.
When speaking about the website user journey specifically, we speak about the path that a visitor takes when they land on your site. It plays out in several stages and is very sector/industry specific (Ex. SaaS & ecommerce will have different user journeys). It is usually comprised of various forms of the following:
Landing on the Website
Where visitors first land. Could be a home page, or any specific page you’ve lead them to etc.
Exploring the Website
Where visitors look around and get a better idea of what’s on offer.
Taking Action
Whatever you have defined your CTAs to be.
Post-Conversion Engagement
How do we retain our users after they’ve taken action?
Take a look at the below test that we ran for Travelstart - an online booking platform.
We noticed that users had no idea how long the checkout process was and therefore were dropping off before completing their booking. We simply added a progress bar to show users which stage of the booking journey they were up to and saw a 4.41% increase in purchases/bookings, which resulted in an additional $170k in revenue month on month.
Chapter 2: Mapping and Analysing User Journeys
Get your pen and paper and actually write this down.
Figure out what you want to focus on. Are you looking at the entire site or just a specific part of it for now?
Data, get data. Use analytics, surveys, feedback etc.
Define user personas. See which type of users interact with your site. What are the different use cases associated with each persona?
Note down the places where you can meet your customers. Website, social media etc.
Map the journey that each persona takes. Land on home page, check pricing page, start free trial, add to cart etc. (very industry and sector dependent).
Analyze and find opportunities in the map to improve on.
It is also vital to consider key points such as user behavior, conversion data and customer feedback, as well as analyzing drop-off points that are causing obvious friction and can be optimized.
Chapter 3: Identifying Opportunities for Optimisation
How to know what to optimize for maximum business impact.
You need to get to know your users. Look for patterns into how users are engaging with your site. Make use of feedback and reviews - and actually do something with that data!
You'll need analytics tools such as GA4 etc., as well as heatmapping and user recording tools such as Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar.
Once you have a decent understanding of your users, look for common pain points along the conversion funnel. Locate the specific steps where they are getting stuck.
If you have a form on your website that is driving you mad because you don’t understand why more people are not submitting it, check out our article on Form Field Analyses HERE
Lastly, don’t forget to take all the above and make a game plan. Include clear objectives, prioritisation, and implementation timelines. This initial research phase is vital to your actual implementation down the line.
Coming next…Chapter 4: Strategies for User Journey Enhancement
Stay tuned for next week to see the remaining chapters!
We hope you’ve enjoyed so far and can’t wait to share the rest.
As always, any feedback is always appreciated. Reach out on LinkedIn, pop us an email, or stalk us and find our numbers - whatever it is, we’re always keen to chat.
Conclusion
Your website isn’t just a digital storefront—it’s a guided experience. Understanding and improving the user journey means fewer drop-offs, better engagement, and more conversions. By taking time to map, analyze, and optimize key touchpoints, you can patch leaks in your funnel and start turning casual visitors into loyal customers. Stay tuned for Part 2 to dive deeper into actionable strategies for enhancing every step of that journey.
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