← Back to solarise.dev

The visitor journey

The goal isn’t just to convert. It’s to lead every visitor to the right decision already equipped with the facts.

A contact form is easy. A contact form that arrives already knowing what it wants is the whole game.

Most sites chase the click. Get the visitor to the button, count the conversion, done. But a cold enquiry and a confident one look nothing alike on the other end: one is a stranger you have to start from scratch with, the other already understands what they need and why.

The difference is what the visitor learned on the way down. When the website is built on relational data - the products, materials, projects, locations and how they all connect - it can feed the right fact into the right moment of the journey. So the visitor doesn’t just arrive at the decision. They arrive at it ready to make it.

That is what I build: not more leads, better-informed customers.

One company, three visitors, three journeys

Same business, same data. Three very different people arrive by three different doors - and every one of them reaches their decision already informed.

Worked example · a kitchen-installation company

Their relational data: kitchen ranges, worktop materials and finishes, room types, past projects (with photos and locations), showrooms, lead times - all linked to each other. That web of relationships is what makes each journey below possible.

Homepage → contact form

“Is this the right firm for me?”

  • Who landsKnows the brand, weighing it up. Wants reassurance, not a sales pitch.
  • The grabThe hero header - the first impression that decides whether they stay.
  • Data feeding the pathProjects near them and in their style, surfaced from the project × location × range relationships.
  • OutcomeA contact form that arrives with context: “Shaker range, Edinburgh showroom, here’s my room” - not a blank “I want a kitchen.”
Blog post → free samples

“Quartz or granite worktops?”

  • Who landsResearching, mid-decision. Found a guide by following a question, not ready to buy.
  • The grabA mid-article CTA, offered once they’ve actually learned something.
  • Data feeding the pathThe article is linked to the real worktop products it compares, and to their samples (article ↔ product ↔ material).
  • OutcomeA samples request for the exact three they just read about, from someone who now understands the trade-offs.
SEO landing → checkout

“Buy this splashback online”

  • Who landsHigh intent from search. Ready to act, but needs to be sure it’s the right one.
  • The grabA footer CTA, after a short learning spiel that builds confidence.
  • Data feeding the pathThe page is generated from the product’s data - specs and what it’s compatible with - so the spiel is accurate and the basket configures correctly.
  • OutcomeA purchase made with confidence, correctly configured, far less likely to come back as a return.

Three different mindsets need three different grabs. People navigate toward a goal by following information scent - the proximal cues that signal the value of what’s behind a link; the clearer the scent at each step, the faster they reach the right thing and the less they wander. (Pirolli & Card, “Information Foraging”, Psychological Review, 1999 - plain-English summary, NN/g.)

What makes each journey work

Four things, combined. None of them is the whole answer on its own - it’s how they fit together that turns data into a decision.

Technical SEO

Gets the right visitor to the right door - the blog they searched for, the landing page that answers their query.

Relational database design

The connections between products, materials, projects and places - so the right fact can surface anywhere on the journey.

Navigation pathways

The route from door to decision, giving clear scent at every step so nobody gets lost on the way.

Page & block builder tools

The flexible admin that lets your team assemble these pages from parts and pivot quickly as demand shifts.

The hero grab has milliseconds to work: visual appeal is judged in around 50ms, before a word is read, and that snap judgement colours everything that follows. The pathway has to earn the next click immediately. (Lindgaard et al., 2006, Behaviour & Information Technology - study.)

Three doors, three mindsets, one outcome: a customer who arrives at the decision already holding the facts. That’s the part I build.

Let's talk.

I help content-rich organisations understand their data and fix broken admin. Tell me what specific problems you're having and I'll be happy to talk solutions with you.