A main goal for any website to be considered successful is to be of value to users. Getting viewers to a particular online location is of course important; however, once an audience has been attracted, it must be able to understand and navigate correctly in order to come away with the intended message. So when creating any kind of website, designers and developers must understand the targeted audience and the different ways this audience will access and use the website. The best design will fail in performance if it is not accessible and usable to all the different visitors who will frequent it.
Accessibility
One of the important points that sometimes gets forgotten when building websites is the necessity to balance cutting edge and innovative design with the ability to use it on many different types of devices. It can be detrimental if the targeted audience is the general public - not techies, computer experts and other people likely to have the newest devices and gadgets - and the website has been designed for that more technical-savvy group of visitors. When someone, somewhere tries to access a web page without the benefit of the latest and greatest technology - an older computer or a mobile device other than an iPhone or have a disability that makes useability difficult at best - it is important that it be easily accessible to all potential users. This means accommodating for different screen resolutions and sizes, different portable devices, devices that may be slow to load and human difficulty as well. While it is impossible to design for every accessing possibility, a business should carefully consider the targeted audience and design with that group in mind.
Ease of Use
As a further consideration of the above point, if the likelihood is that the main audience will primarily be average internet users who may not be so savvy with gadgets, creative menus and other, more complex design elements, it would be better to do without those cutting-edge extras. It does add a certain creative excitement to the website - but only when viewed on the appropriate systems and navigated by those who understand how to interpret and interact with that creativity. For average viewers, all that effort just creates a headache in website navigation and increases the chance of becoming frustrated and leave. Additionally, keeping consistent with regard to page elements throughout the site will keep confusion to a minimum and make the user experience a friendlier one. Make every website a comfortable, convenient experience for most visitors.
Good Content
Beyond the usability factor, being an expert with a topic and providing relevant, trustworthy information is very important as well. Whatever the message, whatever the product or topic, providing accurate content that is informative, correctly composed, and answers viewer questions is the best way to provide a good service and be remembered. Users that visit a website and have to fight with accessibility only to not find the answers to questions will most likely not visit again. Make sure all content is well presented, easy to read and spatially well-balanced on each page. Use images correctly, accentuating the page but not so much as to impede down-load time or the ability to read through content.
By paying attention to these details and designing for the primary user rather than being dazzled by the available techno-savvy gadgets that will only be employed or enjoyed by a small percentage of visitors, any website can be more effective in getting its message across to the greatest majority of visitors. A great way to determine the user-friendliness of any website is to expose it to different groups and see if any problems with useability are noticed. Catering to the right group of visitors is imperative, making sure the website can be utilized by that group and correcting any problems preventing ease of use, will go a long way for increasing website effectiveness. Oh yes, it is vital to design a website for those who will buy that product or service!
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