Posted on July 5th, 2010Having a good understanding of the ideal visitors is important for webmasters because it can guide them in making important decisions in how to run their sites. For example, if a webmaster handles a health-care site for seniors, he might deduce that a bigger font size should be used throughout the site.
With Cascading Style Sheets, webmasters can use the most appropriate font type and size for seniors and with proper tools, webmasters can gather latest information on their visitors and with a few researches about the competitors, they may dynamically define ideal site visitors. Webmasters should be able to determine detailed demographic data about the people using their products or services. Their functions are also to gather and distill what the client previously hinted about the ideal site visitor. They need to ask clients for demographic profiles of ideal target audience. If enough information isn’t available, they need to research by proxy, or harvesting information about ideal target audience by examining competitor sites and other industry-related web sites. Webmasters should perform keyword research at least once every six months to find any shift in trends. The following questions illustrate how a webmaster can define the ideal site visitor dynamically.
- Is the ideal visitor consisted only of one gender? A site for a mostly female audience would have different design from a site that has a mostly male audience, whereas sites that want to appeal visitors at both genders; should use gender-neutral design. However, even when a site is intended for both genders, for example, a computer site may attract more male, as the result, after a periodical research, a webmaster may need to gradually shift to a more masculine design.
- Is the ideal visitor children, seniors, or somewhere in between? Webmasters need to know about the ideal age range for their visitors. This information may assist them in making accessibility and artistic decisions. For instance, a site for mostly college students can be more flexible in design layout, font, and color usage than a site for white-collar businessmen above 40. A music download site may initially open itself for visitors of all age, however after a periodical research the webmaster may find that visitors are mostly between 16 to 35 years old. As the result he may need to gradually change the overall site design according the new data.
- These short questions may also assist in making decisions about design and layout.
- Does your ideal visitor
- Drink alcohol or smoke?
- Religious?
- Eat organic food?
- Physically active?
- Frugal?
- Couch potato?
- Read news?
- Politically active?
- Love pets?
Really get down to specifics and describe the ideal site visitor as vividly and clearly as you would the person is sitting right in front of you. The more you aware of how someone visits your site, the better you know how a site should look and function and also provide the information on what a visitor wants. Because modern people tend to break long established rules, you as a webmaster need to do a research periodically to adjust the direction of your site.
- Using descriptive or adjectives statements, write a list of likely identity traits that can define an ideal site visitor.
Is your visitor should be of average intelligence or smart or? Is your ideal visitor suburban or urban? Is your ideal visitor messy or organized, timid or confident, serious or silly? Who are these people?
Political news site: Married, urban, confident, responsible, hardworking, image-conscious, organized and serious.
Using those adjectives compose an identity statement for the project’s ideal site visitor. It should be your guiding statement in designing a web site.
Political news site: Married, urban, 40-year-old male, confident, responsible, not too fashionable, serious, goes to formal parties; drives a SUV; and lives with family.
When you’re finished, round out the visual profile of your ideal site visitor with a photograph. Each adjective should have an effect to your site design and make sure it combines well with other adjectives. As a webmaster, you should understand about specific account of an ideal site visitor, so you can make an informed decision about the site’s fonts, colors, images, navigation, and content.