A flowchart shows how something happens, one step at a time: where it starts, what happens next, where a choice changes the path, and where it ends. Good flowcharts make a process easy to follow for someone who has never seen it before. This guide walks through how to make one, from a blank page to something you can share.

What a flowchart is for

Flowcharts are useful whenever a process has more than a few steps or any choices along the way:

  • explaining a sign-up, checkout or onboarding flow to a new teammate
  • agreeing on how a support ticket is escalated
  • planning the logic of a feature before it's built
  • documenting how a process works today, so you can improve it

If the thing you're describing has no order, such as a list of ideas, a mind map usually fits better.

The four shapes you need

You can make almost any flowchart with four shapes:

  • Start and end (rounded pill): where the process begins and finishes.
  • Step (rectangle): something that happens.
  • Decision (diamond): a question with two or more answers.
  • Arrow: the order things happen in.

Input and output (a slanted box), documents and databases have their own shapes too, but don't reach for them unless they make the chart clearer.

How to make a flowchart in six steps

1. Decide where it starts and ends

Write down the trigger ("Customer clicks Buy") and the finish ("Receipt sent"). This stops the chart from sprawling into neighbouring processes.

2. List the steps in order

Write each step as a short verb phrase: "Validate cart", "Take payment", "Ship order". One action per box. If a step needs a paragraph, it's probably several steps.

3. Find the decisions

Look for anywhere the path splits: "Payment OK?", "Is the user new?". Phrase each decision as a question, and label every arrow that leaves it ("Yes", "No").

4. Draw the main path first

Lay out the happy path, top to bottom or left to right, before adding exceptions. Readers follow the main line first, then the branches.

5. Add the branches

For each decision, add what happens on the other answer. Bring branches back into the main path where they rejoin, rather than duplicating steps.

6. Read it aloud

Walk through the chart as if you'd never seen the process. Every arrow should be obvious, every decision should have every answer covered, and every path should reach an end.

An example you can type

In Nodeslate you write one line per step, and the flowchart draws itself. A line ending in ? becomes a decision, and Tab adds a branch:

Customer clicks Buy
Validate cart
Payment OK?
Ship order
Send receipt

From "Payment OK?", press Tab to add the other branch, such as "Show payment error". See typing diagrams for every key.

Try it on the canvasNo account needed.

Tips for flowcharts people actually read

  • Keep one level of detail. Don't mix "Click the button" with "Run the billing system" in one chart. Link to a second chart for the details.
  • Use the same direction throughout. Top to bottom is easiest to scan.
  • Avoid crossing lines. If arrows cross, rearrange the steps, or let an automatic layout do it.
  • Label decision arrows. An unlabelled arrow out of a diamond makes the reader guess.
  • Name things the way your team does. Use the words people see in the product.

Questions

What's the difference between a flowchart and a process map?

They're closely related. "Flowchart" usually means the shapes and arrows themselves; a process map often adds who does each step, for example with swimlanes.

How many steps should a flowchart have?

There's no fixed limit, but once a chart passes about 15 to 20 boxes, it's often clearer to split it into a high-level chart and a few detailed ones.

Can I turn a flowchart into code or docs?

Yes. Nodeslate can copy any flowchart as Mermaid, which renders in GitHub, GitLab and many wikis, or export it as SVG, PDF or PNG. See import and export.

Keep reading