In my work with clients in various capacities, one thing that has always struck me is that the organization in question doesn’t seem to think about the site’s end goals until the very end of the project. Considering the user experience–which to my mind is the single justification for the site’s very existence–doesn’t seem to be much more than an afterthought, or even a distraction.
When planning a new website, I don’t start with the content, although I consider it absolutely critical to the site’s chances for SEO success. I don’t start thinking about a layout, or color schemes, or really how it is going to look. In fact, I generally don’t even sit in front of a computer. I merely seek answers to two questions, in this order:
- Who do I want to visit this website?
- What do I want them to do when they get there?
As you will likely have surmised, #1 deals directly with search engine optimization–in particular, considering who I want to attract to my website. Once I know that, I’ll be on the path to knowing what language to use to get them there via search. Question #2 deals with usability, or what I want the user to do once they’ve arrived at the site.
These are separate matters, but there is an enormous amount of overlap between them, to the point that in some ways to discuss one is to address the other. In fact, what some people believe to be SEO is really a matter of usability.
These two questions likely seem fairly elementary, but I believe they are a pretty good diagnostic on an organization’s clarity of thought. What I find revealing, and in some cases astounding, is how many organizations don’t really have precise answers to these questions, even if they think they do. Because if they did, they might not have the kinds of problems with their site content and structure that led them to contact me.
In fact, I believe the organizations that benefit the most from their sites understand a critical distinction: their websites are about them, but their websites aren’t for them. Yes, their websites exist to promote their organization and its goals; but they understand that, broadly speaking, the end user isn’t exactly interested in their organization so much as what their organization can provide, be it some sort of product or service or some other solution to a problem.
So if you’re looking at putting together a website, before you start looking for design ideas or thinking about layouts and color schemes, ask yourself those two questions. Challenge yourself to produce precise, explicit answers. You might find that the questions aren’t easy, but they are simple–and that they force you to carefully consider what you are trying to accomplish online.
What is your website about? And who is it for?
In my work with clients in various capacities, one thing that has always struck me is that the organization in question doesn’t seem to think about the site’s end goals until the very end of the project. Considering the user experience–which to my mind is the single justification for the site’s very existence–doesn’t seem to be much more than an afterthought, or even a distraction.
When planning a new website, I don’t start with the content, although I consider it absolutely critical to the site’s chances for SEO success. I don’t start thinking about a layout, or color schemes, or really how it is going to look. In fact, I generally don’t even sit in front of a computer. I merely seek answers to two questions, in this order:
As you will likely have surmised, #1 deals directly with search engine optimization–in particular, considering who I want to attract to my website. Once I know that, I’ll be on the path to knowing what language to use to get them there via search. Question #2 deals with usability, or what I want the user to do once they’ve arrived at the site.
These are separate matters, but there is an enormous amount of overlap between them, to the point that in some ways to discuss one is to address the other. In fact, what some people believe to be SEO is really a matter of usability.
These two questions likely seem fairly elementary, but I believe they are a pretty good diagnostic on an organization’s clarity of thought. What I find revealing, and in some cases astounding, is how many organizations don’t really have precise answers to these questions, even if they think they do. Because if they did, they might not have the kinds of problems with their site content and structure that led them to contact me.
In fact, I believe the organizations that benefit the most from their sites understand a critical distinction: their websites are about them, but their websites aren’t for them. Yes, their websites exist to promote their organization and its goals; but they understand that, broadly speaking, the end user isn’t exactly interested in their organization so much as what their organization can provide, be it some sort of product or service or some other solution to a problem.
So if you’re looking at putting together a website, before you start looking for design ideas or thinking about layouts and color schemes, ask yourself those two questions. Challenge yourself to produce precise, explicit answers. You might find that the questions aren’t easy, but they are simple–and that they force you to carefully consider what you are trying to accomplish online.