Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
instead of the fest logo. The individual bands could be placed in their own categories in
the top level of navigation. This is just one set of many possible changes.
When you start to examine the way that site goals and site purpose affect the structure
of the fi nal site, you can see just how important it is to carefully consider what you want
to accomplish. Taking the time to establish goals and expectations from the very begin-
ning will make a world of difference in the fi nal site.
Identifying the Target Audience
The
target audience
for a Web site is the group of people whom you would
most
like to
visit the site. You identify the target audience by creating a user profi le. A
user profi le
is
the information that you gather from a list of questions, as shown in Figure 2-2. The user
profi le is a tool designed to help you determine the characteristics of the group of people
you are trying to reach: the target audience.
The word user in user
profile refers to the target
user group, not an indi-
vidual user.
Figure 2-2
General user profi le questions
1.
What is the age range of the user?
Sites can appeal to a range of ages. The age range will
depend on the site goals. Generally, the group members are linked because they share a
commonality such as a habit, a characteristic, or a developmental stage.
2. What is the gender of the user?
Sites can be targeted to males only, females only, or
males and females. Not all sites are targeted to a specific gender.
3. What is the education level of the user?
Education level will be a range. Designate
education level either by the current year in school (e.g., senior in high school) or the
degree earned if out of school (e.g., associates degree).
4. What is the economic situation of the user?
Economic situation refers to the annual
income level of the user as well as other extenuating economic factors, such as parental
support or student loans. For example, the user may be a student who has only a part-time
job. As a student, the user may have a lower income bracket, earning only $20,000 a year,
but extenuating economic factors, such as parental support and student loans, may affect
the user's buying power. All of this information should factor into the user's economic
situation.
5. What is the geographic location of the user?
The site can be targeted at users in a
specific city, a specific region, or a specific country.
6. What is the primary language of the user?
7. What is the ethnic background of the user?
Most sites are targeted at a user group with
diverse cross sections of ethnic backgrounds; however, sometimes ethnicity is a factor in
your target audience. For example, Jet Magazine is targeted at African-American users.
8. Are there other unifying characteristics that are relevant to the user?
If you know
that the target group has a common characteristic that may be of use in designing the
Web site, list it here. Unifying characteristics are useful if they are related to the topic
of the Web site or if they could affect the goals of the site. For example, unifying
characteristics might include things such as: target users have diabetes (for a diabetes
disease-management site), target users ride dirt bikes (for a BMX motocross site), target
users listen to club music (for an alternative music site), and so on.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search