All
websites are designed towards your visitors, but how
many sites are actually designed towards the visitors
specific? Very few...
This might not make much sense at face value, why wouldn't
you create a web page that is tailored to your visitors?
The question is not why wouldn't you, but why aren't
you?
If you study the statistics, you can be set
free...
The truth of the matter is that most web pages are
designed towards what the owner wants, not the user.
They focus too much attention on the appearance, or
nit pick the details, but fail completely to consider
what would cater enough to the visitors.
That is not to say that the design or details are not
important, only that at the root of every decision you
should ask "Is this what would be best for a visitor
of my site?".
Let's start by looking at the appearance
Most designers focus a lot on appearance. In some instances,
having a very appealing design is important. Those in
the industry of creating design/art, for example. However,
people do not visit websites because they look pretty.
They visit websites because the site offers services,
information, or content that is valuable to them. Because
of this, that should be your main focus not the design.
If not the design, what about the copy?
This is where it gets tricky. I already said that the
design is not important, the content is. This is true,
however most users do not read all of the content on
a web page, they simply scan.
So now the design isn't important, and neither
is the copy?
Yes and no. The copy is more important than the design,
but highlighting and bringing focus to the key information
is more important than both. That is why it is very
important to take advantage of headings, italics, bold,
and color changes to shift focus to the key phrases
that you want people to read.
Make your site easy!
Think about the average user of your site, and figure
out what they would want to get out of visiting the
web page. Then make those elements as easy to get to
as possible. This often includes office hours and contact
information/forms on every page, a sitemap with detailed
information on every page, the first element on a menu
is the focus of the site, unburied and featured content,
etc...
If you tailor your site to your visitors, it
will be a success!
Remember, every decision for your site should be tailored
to your target market, and towards how your target market
uses the internet. People want information fast and
easy on the internet, and any time delay will often
turn people away and towards your competitors.
Ross Johnson is co-founder of Ann Arbor Web Design
company 3.7 Designs. He also runs a web success and
marketing strategies blog, which he updates with tips
for non-designer and designers alike.
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