Defining Your Audience and Website Purpose

Defining the Purpose of your Website

When you are creating your website, it is important to determine what the goal of the website is before you start building a website. Is the website being created to sell a product? Inform customers of your services? Become an informational resource? Etc.

If you do not have a goal for your website at the start of the project, you are more likely to waste time and money when the developer creates a website that isn\’t effective and doesn’t meet your needs.

Having a clear purpose for the website will help you create content that is engaging and will help you attract your target audience. Also, by focusing your website, your visitors will find better value in the information on your website.

Defining Your Audience 

The most important thing when you are starting a website (or about to update your website), is to define your target audience. If you do not define your audience, you are less likely to have a great website with a really good user experience.

The best way to define your audience is to brainstorm. Make a list of the people you envision will use your website. Once you have your list, rank the list in order of the largest (or most profitable) group. The top 1-3 groups will become your primary audience, while the others will be your secondary audience. 

After your website is created you can use Google Analytics and customer feedback surveys to continually tweak your target market and optimize your website.

It is important to remember that while you want to target everyone, your main goal is to create a website that speaks to your target audience.

Activity:

Make a list of who your users are. Are they technical savvy? If they are an older population you may want to consider simplifying your website, user bigger text and ensuring that your language is in terms that they will understand. Make notes on what information your users are looking for and the path they would typically take to make a purchase. Make sure that your website follows the workflow, leading the user down the path to making a purchase (or your desired call to action).