Broken user flows
User flows are scripted journeys through your website, such as signing in, searching, or completing a checkout, which Silktide replays step by step in a real browser. This check reports flows that can no longer complete, along with the step that failed and the error it produced.
Why this matters
Your most important functionality usually lives behind a sequence of actions, not on a single page - and a release, a redesign, or a third-party change can quietly break it. Every hour a sign-up form or checkout is broken costs you conversions, and visitors rarely report it; they just leave. Replaying these journeys on every scan catches breakage soon after it happens instead of when the complaints arrive.
How to fix it
A failing flow means one of two things:
- The functionality is genuinely broken - a button no longer works, a form rejects valid input, a page errors. Fix the website, and the flow passes on the next run.
- The website changed and the flow is out of date - the button moved, was renamed, or the journey now has different steps. Update the flow's definition to match the new website - see User flows.
To tell which, open the finding and review the failing step: the reported error message and the element the step was trying to interact with usually make the cause obvious.
How Silktide tests this
- This check only applies to pages visited as part of a user flow you have configured; on every other page it reports nothing.
- Each flow is replayed in a real browser, performing its steps in order - clicking, typing, and navigating exactly as configured.
- Any step that fails fatally, so the journey cannot continue, is reported with the instruction that failed, the error message, and the element involved.
Troubleshooting
The flow fails, but the journey works when I try it by hand
The most common cause is that the flow refers to an element that has changed - a renamed button or restructured page can leave the step unable to find its target even though a human adapts without noticing. Timing can also differ: content that appears after a delay may not be ready when the step runs. A/B tests and personalization can show the automated browser a different page than you see. Review the failing step's error and update the flow to match the current website.