User journeys are not linear

Most businesses assume their website works like a shop front. Visitors arrive at the homepage, browse through the pages in a logical order, and eventually take action.

That's not how it works.

Your homepage isn't the front door

Analytics consistently show that a large percentage of your visitors never see your homepage. They land on a blog post from Google. They click a link to a specific service page from social media. A colleague sends them your pricing page directly.

Every page on your website is a potential entry point. If you design your site assuming everyone starts at the homepage and follows your carefully planned path, you're designing for a journey that most of your visitors never take.

What this means for your website

When any page could be the first page someone sees, every page needs to stand on its own:

• Clear navigation: Visitors need to understand where they are and where they can go. If someone lands on a blog post, can they easily find your services? If they land on a service page, can they find proof you're credible?

• Signposting: Every page should guide visitors toward the next logical step — whether that's reading a related article, exploring your services, or getting in touch. Don't assume they know where to go next.

• Consistent labelling: Your navigation and page titles should be descriptive and predictable. Clever or abstract labels might feel creative but they slow people down. "Services" beats "What we do" every time.

• Context on every page: Don't bury your value proposition on the homepage alone. Each key page should quickly communicate who you are and what you do, even if the visitor has never seen another page on your site.

Stop mapping perfect funnels

Customer journey maps have their place, but they become dangerous when teams treat them as the one true path. Real user behaviour is messy. People revisit pages. They leave and come back days later. They compare you with competitors in separate tabs. They start on mobile and switch to desktop.

Instead of trying to control the journey, focus on making every touchpoint clear, useful, and easy to act on. Good signposting and clear labelling will do more for your conversion rate than the most detailed journey map.

Focus on moments that matter

Rather than mapping every possible path through your site, identify the moments where visitors make decisions:

• The moment they decide you're worth exploring further

• The moment they understand what you offer

• The moment they trust you enough to get in touch

Make those moments as frictionless as possible, regardless of which page they happen on.