Want to come up with a smooth user flow diagram for your website or app? Then find out about the best user flow and flowchart creation tools in this guide.
It doesn’t matter if you are coming up with a prototype for a website or an app, it is important to have a dedicated user flow diagram. After all, it would let you analyze your product from the perspective of the end-user, which is extremely important in the development process.
The good news is that there are tons of user flow and flowchart tools that can help you do the same. Here, we will let you know how to improve your UX skills with the help of some of the best user flow diagramming tools.
What is a User Flow Diagram?
Ideally, a user flow diagram provides the overall representation of the user’s journey, depicting various steps that they would take. It starts from the initial or the entry point in the prototype and explores the different actions that the user takes to complete their goals.
In most cases, it looks like a flowchart with specific actions and vectors. Since user flow diagrams have a specific outcome, they let us devise how the end-user would use the product to achieve their goals.
For instance, let’s consider a simple example in which the user needs to log in to a website. They can directly go to the website and enter the account details to log in. If they don’t remember the credentials, then they can click on the “Forget Password” option to reset it.
How User Flow Diagrams can Help in UX Designing?
When it comes to principles like UI/UX, user flow illustrations can play a vital role. Here are some of the major benefits that make them beneficial in the long run.
- We can come up with different use cases, exploring what the end-user might wish to accomplish in various scenarios.
- You can know what the user needs to accomplish the task and can include it in the prototype (if it is missing).
- It will help you clean your prototype by letting you get rid of the design elements that are no longer relevant.
- It will make sure that the overall user experience is pleasant and that your product delivers the key offerings.
- By identifying the barriers in between, you can know how user-friendly your design is and you can further improvise it.
How to Pick a Resourceful User Flow Tool for UX Designing?
Since there are so many user experience applications out there, I would recommend keeping the following things in mind while picking an ideal tool.
- Overall features: Firstly, makes user flow tool you are interested in has all the needed vectors, libraries, templates, and the overall features you need.
- Ease of use: Most of the flowchart tools are extremely easy to use and you should pick an application that can create a user flow diagram without any technical hassle.
- Collaboration: If you are working with a team, then go with a cloud-based tool that would let you collaborate with others easily.
- Dynamic options: If you want to create a high-fidelity user flow diagram, then go with a tool that allows linking and other clickable options.
- Other things to notice: Besides that, keep other things in mind like your budget, the desired platform, import/export features, familiarity, user feedback, and so on.
5 Best User Flow Tools You Must Explore in 2021
If you also want to come up with interesting and aesthetically pleasing user flow illustrations, then consider the following tools in mind:
- Wondershare Mockitt
For all those who want to create visually appealing user flow diagrams, Wondershare Mockitt should be the first pick. The web and desktop applications of Mockitt would let you scale your design thinking without any technical hassle. The best part is that the basic version of Mockitt is available for free and users can later upgrade to its premium version (if needed).
- There are thousands of visual tools and readily available vectors that you can use to create flowcharts, user flow diagrams, wireframes, prototypes, and more.
- Users can browse its range of professionally drafted templates and other widgets, letting them save their time in designing.
- You can browse the dedicated themes for flowcharts and create all kinds of user flow diagrams via simple drag-and-drop actions.
- There is also a dedicated option to directly import prototypes as flowcharts or export them in different formats.
- On Mockitt, you can find dedicated options to create user journey flowcharts, production flowcharts, algorithm flowcharts, and so much more.
Pros
- Cloud-based integration to seamlessly collaborate with your team.
- You can assign dedicated roles to your colleagues and maintain historical versions of your projects.
- Mockitt has an infinite canvas, which is extremely easy to use.
Price: Free or $69 per year
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Figma
Figma is another multipurpose app that you can use to create user flow diagrams, wireframes, and other designing solutions. Since Figma is available online, there is no need to install anything to come up with appealing flowcharts using it.
- On your Figma dashboard, you can find dedicated library kits to create user flow diagrams and flowcharts.
- Figma also offers a dedicated plugin – AutoFlow, which can automate the process of creating user flow diagrams.
- There are tons of templates and examples in Figma to create process user flows, organizational charts, system flowcharts, and more.
- You can easily create all kinds of flowcharts with Figma and even upload your projects to the cloud for seamless collaboration.
Pros
- Figma is pretty easy to learn and use.
- There is an extensive library for different diagramming requirements.
Cons
- Limited extensibility with other tools.
- You can only export your designs into a few formats.
Price: Free or $12 per month
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Miro
Miro is a visual diagramming tool that is mostly used for collaboration and design thinking. It is a lightweight online application that is already used extensively for brainstorming and collaboration.
- On Miro, you will get an infinite whiteboard and an extensive range of visual tools to create stunning user flow diagrams.
- Users can readily import any existing template from its library or come up with flowcharts from scratch.
- There is a seamless option to collaborate with your team, assign roles, and maintain dedicated version histories.
- You can find a wide range of third-party plugins for Jira, Box, Google Suite, and other services in Miro.
Pros
- Extremely helpful in brainstorming and teamwork.
- A basic free version of Miro is also available.
Cons
- Limited features for prototyping and wireframing.
- Fewer options for product development and handoff.
Price: Free or $10 per member monthly
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Overflow
If you are looking for a friendly user flow diagramming tool, then Overflow can be an option. Available for Mac and Windows, it has all the needed features to create stunning flowcharts on the go.
- There are numerous libraries for logical diagrams, flowcharts, and user flow illustrations.
- You can come up with multiple-layer wireframes and even connect various entities.
- Overflow also offers excellent collaborative options, letting your colleagues work on designs in one place.
- Users can directly export their diagrams in formats like PDF or PNG (and maintain private folders too).
- You can also readily import your designs from other applications like Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, or Photoshop.
Pros
- Overflow has one of the simplest learning curves.
- There are dedicated plugins and third-party services available.
Cons
- There is no free version (the premium versions are a bit expensive).
- You can’t readily export your designs into CSS or APK formats.
Price: $12 per month
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Lucidchart
Lastly, Lucidchart can also be considered as an ideal user flow diagramming tool. From flowcharts to organizational diagrams, you can come up with numerous visual aids using Lucidchart.
- On your Lucidchart dashboard, you can find hundreds of libraries and designs to create different styles of diagrams.
- Users can customize any template or even change an existing flowchart as per their requirements.
- Apart from using its 500+ templates, you can even draw all kinds of user flow diagrams from scratch via its drag and drop options.
- With the help of the inbuilt Lucidchart cloud, you can easily share your user flow diagrams with others and even collaborate with your team.
Pros
- There is a free version of Lucidchart you can try (that supports up to 3 editable documents).
- Overall, using Lucidchart is extremely easy as it provides seamless drag-and-drop features.
Cons
- Some advanced options related to collaboration or annotations are missing.
- It is only used to create diagrams and can’t help you come up with high-fidelity prototypes.
Price: Free or $7.95 per month
Now when you know the importance of user flow diagrams for UX designing, you must start working on them as well. To do this, we have listed 5 different user flow and flowchart tools above that work on almost every major platform.
Out of these 5, you can explore whichever suits your requirements. However, since Wondershare Mockitt is a complete user flow and prototyping tool; it is equipped with tons of features, letting you create dedicated user flow diagrams, wireframes, prototypes, and more without much effort.
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