III. Website Design

Report
The importance of website design to a business’ online success was dealt with next. The website has to clearly communicate the goals and objectives of the business. To this end, it must decide on the strategy or combination of strategies that are most in keeping with the business’ objectives: an information web site provides information about the business, its products and its services; an interactive web site contains the same information and adds interactive features such as an e-newsletter or a customer discussion forum; a transactional web site sells products and services, and typically includes information and interactive features; a collaborative web site allows business partners to collaborate.

Website designers must know their users. As a business medium, the internet is different from traditional telephone and in-person procedures. Users arrive at websites with a short attention span and a task in mind that they want to accomplish by scanning. They might have limited access (modems won’t load graphics). Designers should also know if their users are core (upon whom the entire business depends), trained, typical, or casual. The website should also comply with guidelines for disabled access (10-20% of population): visual impairments require appropriate font size or read-out options; hearing impairments require a text-only option; a simple interface with consistent navigation caters to cognitive disorders; too much flickering can bring on seizures; mobility impairments require a limitation in the number of clicks.

Understanding consumer behaviour is crucial to website design. Population segment is a component of this, in which geographic location, demographics and psychographics play their parts. The website must also determine who its users are: deciders, influencers, buyers, gatekeepers or a multiple of these. The consumer decision-making process follows a sequence of steps, i.e. problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation. The more designers are able to appreciate consumer behaviour and translate their understandings into their website designs, the greater their potential for coming up with a successful website.

The functionality of the website is a critical factor as well. Navigation, consistency, performance, appearance, quality assurance, interactivity, security and scalability are all essential here. The website should be engaging, well-presented, and user-friendly, and it shoudl comply with the 3-click rule.

Reflection
I find myself looking at websites with new eyes now! While i am more critical of their quality, i also appreciate the expertise that goes into making a website effective. If i were designing a website for my own business, i realize that i would have to be vigilant in putting myself in the place of my customers in order to check that the message i want them to receive is the one they would actually be receiving. I would have to anticipate customer expectations, so that the website i am designing is accordingly informative, transactional, interactive or collaborative. This is where repeated testing and assessment of a business’ website prior to launching could pay off in the long run.

I recognize myself, too, in the consumer behaviour patterns that characterize the way customers make use of websites, e.g. my attention span is short, and i want immediate access to the information or service i am seeking. Because customers who shop or look for information online now have the luxury of staying in one location, such that the cost and inconvenience of switching to another supplier or location is minimized, businesses are under increasing pressure to upgrade and update the information and services they are offering online. Their websites must be as effective as possible so that they hold customers’ attention and attract their business.

In Principles of Marketing (2008), Kotler discusses the elements that go into designing a customer-driven marketing strategy (pp.184-5). Market segmentation divides a market into smaller groups of buyers with distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviours; market targeting is the process of evaluating and selecting one or more segments to enter; differentiation means actually differentiating the offering to create superior customer value; and positioning means arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of consumers.

Businesses do well to make use of these strategies when it comes to website design. Since no company is able to appeal to all customers in the marketplace, they must identify the target segments they can most profitably serve and design websites that that are specifically tailored to them. They must focus on the differentiation and positioning strategies that appeal most to the buyers who make up those segments and incorporate those strategies into their website design.

Evidently, designing an effective website is no small challenge!