Understanding your audience – A crucial step
Certain people tend to be rather baffled at the success of some websites and the failure of others. They cannot seem to fathom as to what are the factors that played a role in this outcome. Why is it that some websites manage to become a traffic generating machine while others fade into oblivion? Is content to be blamed alone? Or there are other factors that play a role in this result?
There is no denying that at the end of the day, content is king. It is perhaps the most important factor that would decide the fate of your website. After all when people visit a website, it is the content that they focus the most at. But is it the only factor? The answer is no. Content is not the sole decisive factor, albeit an important one. Other factors are equally important, one among which is that of design.
Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is your target audience. For instance, if your website is the informative kind that you are using to send a message to the general public, the tone of your content would be different. You would refrain from using technical terms that would present the readers with the need to consult a dictionary. However, if your website is meant for professionals, you would not hesitate in using such terms. Similarly, if your target is the general audience, you would not be complex in the design of your website. You would have to ensure that navigation is simple with clear-cut instructions as to what they need to do next, what they would gain if they click here, and so on.
The core point
Identifying your audience is the core point, the starting point from which you would plan the journey ahead. However, this planning cannot be done by you alone. Once you have identified your target audience, you would need to understand their requirements and incorporate them into your web design.
Naturally, this is not something that you would be experienced at, so it would be quite natural that you would commit errors. While it is certainly a good option to learn from your mistakes, this is not a rule that would be applicable with regards to websites because in the virtual world, people seldom get second chances. Therefore, in this case, you would have to ensure that you make the most of the opportunity that has been presented to you.
Once you have identified your audience, avail the assistance of someone who understands them. Take the example of the people of Dubai. If you own a site that is meant to attract the people of Dubai, you would need someone who would be well aware of the rules of website designing Dubai. The same holds true for other areas. It all comes down to ensuring that you are aware of the people that you intend to target with your website so that a strategy can be formulated accordingly.
