September 07, 2011
When you design a website, whether its intended purpose is to inform the public, espouse a viewpoint, sell a product, or even offer something for free, there are several factors of the creative and technical process that must be taken into consideration. You have to build a foundation that includes a domain to host the site, as well as a basic page layout to house the content. In many cases a professional web designer will be brought in to see to these needs. But from there you’re going to have to consider the look and feel of the site, including text, graphics, buttons, navigation, advertising, and all the little parts that come together to make your site complete. But even beyond these tangible (so to speak) inclusions, you must consider something a bit more nebulous – the user experience. And if your visitors aren’t wowed, you’re going to be in trouble.
In truth, the so-called “user experience” should be your top priority when designing a site. The task can definitely be daunting because user expectations and opinions vary so widely. Literally every visitor to your site is going to have different wants and needs going in. For this reason, you may be tempted to throw your hands up in the air and call it a lost cause. But don’t be hasty. The truth is that even though the consumer public is vastly diverse, still they are accustomed to the basic formatting of websites and how to interact with them, which means that you have some amount of control over the variables. Also, you have to consider that you are targeting specific demographics, and you can use that to speak to a majority of a particular group (even if there are a few aberrations that will not appreciate your machinations).
But even if you can sway the user experience, why is it so important? The major issue here is competition. There are literally thousands of new websites popping up every day, offering different (and potentially better) experiences for your visitors. It used to be that if you lived in a certain area you were pretty much limited to whatever was available locally. There might have been only one option for a particular product (one grocery store, one bank, one dress shop, etc.). People didn’t necessarily have to worry about the experience of their customers because the populace had no other choice. Of course, that situation was remedied by the fact that everyone had to live in close proximity and get along, but that is not the reality today. In some ways, the internet has opened Pandora’s box.
In short, you can’t afford to be subpar. There are always going to be sites that have more money to spend on a domain name, a prototype tool, an award-winning writer, flashy graphics, and free giveaways to draw people in. But if you design a site that is simple, straightforward, and easy to use, as well as provide excellent customer service, you’re going to find that the extra effort does not go unnoticed. In this day and age, it’s all too easy to focus on numbers (of visitors, for example). When you make keeping your customers happy a priority, they’re going to remember the personalized interaction in a world that is largelyindifferent.
