Know Your Audience
Do you find that your website is not performing as you would expect? The first step is considering whether your website actually speaks to your target customer as it is common to find that when a website is performing poorly, it is not connecting with the target audience as it should. This leaves visitors confused and unsure of what steps to take to find out more information about your brand, and products and/or services.
It’s one thing having a website that you think looks great, but your target audience MUST be at the forefront of any website design or crucial leads will be lost!
A targeted website is a website that is designed and developed with a specific audience or market in mind. This means that the content, design, and functionality of the website are carefully crafted to meet the needs, interests, and preferences of that particular target audience. The highly relevant and personalised experience of a targeted website will result in increased engagement, conversions, and customer loyalty.
Why You Can’t Speak to Everyone
A general website that speaks to everyone will lack focus, contain ineffective content, be less relevant, and provide less opportunities.
However, keeping the target visitor at the forefront of website design will allow you to create a relevant and tailored website that allows you to benefit from:
1. Improved SEO effectiveness by creating and publishing relevant content that addresses the target audience’s concerns.
2. Increased engagement and decreased bounce rate – a relevant site keeps the target viewer engaged, on the website for longer, and more likely to convert
3. Positive brand perception – reducing website frustration massively improves the perception of your brand
Don’t Guess! Listen and Test.
Don’t try and guess what your target audience think, ask them! To reap the benefits of a relevant and targeted website it is essential to spend time speaking to your target audience so you really understand their needs and their journey. You can then cater your website towards this.
However, it is important to be aware of the potential gap between feedback from a selection of target visitors, and then the practicality of the design when the website is live. It is possible that it may not translate effectively in practice and negatively impact your website.
Therefore, after your website has been designed with the target user in mind, it is useful to utilise regular user testing to get a clear understanding of how real users interact with and experience your website. This is a crucial step in the website design process and will provide valuable real-life insights that can be used to improve the overall functionality, aesthetic and user experience of your business website.
By undertaking user testing you will be able to:
- observe how users navigate the website
- identify areas that cause confusion or frustration
- gather feedback on the website’s overall design and functionality
- identify and fix any accessibility issues
User Testing Best Practices
User testing can seem like an intimidating and complex process if you haven’t undertaken it previously.
Keep in mind these key best practices to aid the process:
1. Identify the goals of the user test
For the test to be successful there needs to be clear objectives. This will provide structure to the test.
What do you want to learn from the user test? Are there any specific areas of the website that need testing and you have specific questions regarding? Or are you looking to test the usability of the site as a whole?
Fundamentally, there needs to be direction or else there will be no coherence between the test content and the insights you require.
2. Recruit test participants
Find and recruit users who match the demographic and user personas of your target audience to ensure the results are accurate and relevant.
3. Test preparation
Once you have developed clear objectives you can create a test plan that is complementary to these. Additionally, you want to ensure consistency when conducting testing to ensure validity of results, therefore it is important that the test preparation is detailed so all tests follow the same structure.
4. Analyse the results
Look for patterns in user behaviour and identify any issues or areas for improvement. You should then make relevant changes to fix these identified weaknesses.
5. Retest
User testing is not a one-time event, it should be an ongoing process. As your website evolves and new features are added, user testing should be done to ensure that the website remains usable and accessible for all users, and is effectively driving visitors towards conversion.
Your Website Isn’t Actually for You
Fundamentally, it is important to remember that your website isn’t actually for you. It is there to benefit your target visitor and push them towards conversion. This is why it is essential that your website is designed with this persona in mind every step of the way.
An Easier Way to User Test
The design process can be overwhelming if you do not have an in-house design team or have limited website development experience. In this case, it is beneficial to utilise a website development agency to simplify the process. Using a WaaS (websites-as-a-service) provider, such as Creatify, is an excellent option as they have the expertise to design a targeted website, but also provide the flexibility to make changes as you discover how visitors are interacting with your website. Creatify’s subscription package even includes monthly insight reports and unlimited website revisions and updates, ensuring your website always connects directly to the target audience.
