This isn't all about you

So far I've talked about what I intend to get out of my new site. These goals are very important, and they will shape the development of the site substantially. But my needs are not the only needs to consider. I will not be the only one using this site. What about my visitors?

You can look at a website as an interaction between the owner or owners of the site, and its visitors. This interaction involves explicit communication - text for example - and this is the most obvious interaction. But it also involves a lot of implicit and often subtle communication. This is the “body language” of your site, and is important to consider as part of the overall user experience.

What worth is it to have your business site claim to value its customers, if their experience of it is frustrating? If your site makes it difficult for a visitor to complete a task of theirs, it's as if you've turned your back on them. You should aim to support these tasks, and avoid annoying your visitors.

Like it or not, your site will behave in a certain way depending on the decisions that you make during its development. It's your job to make sure it behaves in the way that you want.

I know it's easy to make assumptions about the user experience your site provides, but such assumptions are dangerous. Perhaps it will help to think of it this way: when you visit a site that frustrates you, one that genuinely annoys you, do you think the designer of the site set out to piss you off?

It's unlikely. They probably just made bad assumptions about their visitors.

The first step you should take to avoid making such assumptions is to make an effort to understand them. Who will your site be aimed at? Who is your audience?

In the case of my own site, I already have a good idea of the audience I'm trying to aim at.

1. Web designers and developers, who may be interested in hiring me to work with them on a project or interested in using one of the products I plan to offer in one of their own projects.
2. Business owners who are looking for someone to hire for some design or development work.
3. Current clients.

If you do not know who the audience for your site is, you should find out. How can you design something for someone if you don't know who they are?

One tool used by designers to help keep their users needs in mind during development of a product (which is what a site is) is the persona. I was going to describe what a persona is and how it is useful, but Don Norman has done a better job than I ever could. I recommend you take a look at his essay “Ad-Hoc Personas & Empathetic Focus”. Read it. In the next installment I'll provide personas for each group I'm designing for, and expand upon the strategy of the site.