In the realm of website development, the analysis phase takes center stage, employing diverse marketing research techniques to discern the needs of both the business and the audience, be it for a website, mobile site, app, or company social page. These identified needs serve as the cornerstone for shaping the website's design and content.
Analysis isn't a one-time endeavor but rather a repetitive process, frequently revisited with each prototype iteration. Although analysis and design represent distinct activities, they often overlap significantly. During the analysis phase, we strive to answer a range of critical questions like 'who, what, why, how, when, where':
- Who constitutes the primary audience for the site?
- Why should they engage with the site? What appeals to them?
- What should the site's content encompass, and which services will it offer?
- How will the content be structured (information architecture)?
- How will users navigate through the site?
- What are the primary marketing outcomes sought from the site (registrations, leads, sales)?
- When and where is the online presence accessed: at home, at work, or while on the move?
To address these questions, web designers often employ a research-based approach known as user-centered design. This approach leverages various techniques, including ethnographic research and the creation of customer personas, to ensure that the site aligns with user needs.
Now, let's delve into the essential requirements for establishing a robust online presence, encompassing both business and user needs, including usability, accessibility, and information requirements.
Business requirements: empowering marketing-driven design
While prioritizing user-centered design, there's a need to balance business requirements aimed at achieving marketing objectives. A marketing-driven site design is guided by marketing goals and strategies. This approach typically aligns design with the performance drivers of successful digital marketing and loyalty drivers. Design decisions are heavily influenced by these performance drivers:
- Customer Acquisition: The online value proposition must be clear, with appropriate incentives and permission marketing strategies devised.
- Customer Conversion: The site must effectively engage first-time visitors, prominently featuring calls to action for customer acquisition and retention offers, with benefits clearly explained. Simplifying the fulfillment of offers or purchases is crucial to minimize attrition during this process.
- Customer Retention: The site should provide incentives, content, and customer service information to encourage repeat visits and ongoing business.
- Service Quality: Affected by site navigation, performance, availability, and responsiveness to inquiries.
- Branding: The site should transparently convey the brand offer, facilitating user interaction with the brand.
Design requirements: navigating persuasion marketing
Marketing-led site design, often referred to as persuasion marketing.
Usability requirements: crafting user-friendly experiences
Usability is a critical concept applied to the analysis and design of various products, gauging how user-friendly they are. Usability is defined by the British Standard / ISO Standard (1999) as:
"The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use."
In the context of website design, usability aligns seamlessly with users' defined objectives, such as finding specific information or completing tasks like booking a flight or checking an account balance.
As described by Jakob Nielsen in Designing Web Usability, usability entails an engineering approach to website design, ensuring that the user interface is learnable, memorable, error-free, efficient, and provides user satisfaction. It incorporates testing and evaluation to optimize navigation and information access, complementing the information architecture.
Usability project activities encompass expert reviews, conducted at the start of a redesign project to identify issues with the previous design. Usability testing entails:
- Identifying representative users and typical tasks.
- Instructing them to perform specific tasks, such as finding a product or completing an order.
- Observing their actions and success rates.
- To ensure site success, user tasks or actions must be accomplished effectively (with measured task completion) and efficiently (with minimized time or clicks).
Accessibility requirements: embracing inclusivity
Web accessibility is a fundamental requirement for websites, ensuring that all users can interact with the site regardless of disabilities, web browsers, or platforms they employ. This inclusivity is especially beneficial to the visually impaired and becomes increasingly relevant with the surge in mobile device usage.
Many countries have enacted specific accessibility legislation, encompassed within disability and discrimination acts. In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 addresses this area.
Guidelines for creating accessible websites are developed by governments, non-government organizations, and internet standards bodies like the World Wide Web Consortium. Ensuring accessibility carries both a moral and business imperative. The visually impaired represent a significant audience, and website accessibility enhances the user experience for all, including users of alternative browsers or screen resolutions.
Additionally, many techniques that enhance usability also contribute to improved search engine optimization, potentially driving more organic traffic. Legal requirements in many countries further underscore the importance of accessibility.
Adapted from: Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Digital marketing: strategy, implementation, and practice (Vol. 5). Harlow: Pearson.