Background work – before you start designing
Set the web site objectives
Whether you are developing an existing web site or creating a new one, you need to clearly define your own objectives.
- You can only measure the success of the project if you know what it is supposed to achieve.
- Web sites that put the user at the centre need
to have a clear purpose.
Get to know your target audience
This is something that will benefit every business, and not just when
you are developing a web site.
- Talk to your customers and find out what they want from your company, why they choose your products or services, and what they like or dislike about your competitors.
- Try to identify the real reasons why people need to buy your products or services. What problems do they solve?
You need to get into your customer’s mind so that you can provide them with what they want. The best way to do this is to ask them.
Creating a design template
Field studies
Try to talk to your customers and find out what they want from a web site. You may be able to do this during your day-to-day business, or you may need to use something more structured, like a questionnaire. Once you know exactly why someone wants to buy your products or services, you should have all the knowledge necessary to build a web site that suits them.
You should also remember that your online customers may not be exactly the same as your offline customers.
Paper prototypesThis basic but useful exercise will help you to plan your web site before starting to create web pages. Make a mock-up of your proposed design using pieces of paper, sticky labels, post-it notes and anything else that comes to hand. Show this to a user and ask them to carry out a typical task. When the user ‘clicks’ on a link, you then find the relevant piece of paper and present them with the new page.
Card sortingThis simple technique gives you invaluable information about the structure and navigation of your web site. Write each of your products or services on a card or post-it note and ask people to sort them into categories and name these categories. This helps you to find out how your customers will want to navigate your web site.
User testing
If you are re-developing an existing web site, you should carry out some user tests before starting to create the new site.
If you are starting from scratch, think about carrying out user tests on your competitor’s web sites to find out where they are going right or wrong.
Next - Designing usable webpages
