Hello, My Name is…

A giant hurdle where many organizations stumble is assuming they understand their audience and know what they are looking for. We’ve all been to websites with horrible navigation, sites that make you hunt through menus and links to find the information you’re after. All too often this isn’t related to a complex design or mountains of important data – it’s because the somebody decided it was more important to be “cool” and use non-descriptive text and navigation that doesn’t have any context to a end user.

To help break down the barrier between your industry’s jargon and your users, you’ll have to step into their shoes. User Personas are a tool designed define the types of people most likely to visit your site. This is a powerful framework that will shape the entire website design process. It helps decision makers and designers transform their audience into real human beings. More than simple "visitors" or "members", these are people with names, complicated Starbucks orders, and packed schedules hoping to simplify their lives.

Try this exercise on for size:

Create your sites User Personas

Your task today is to sit down with your team and sketch out a few "typical" characters that use your website. I suggest that you identify 2 to 4 different personas that represent the majority of your website users. Give them a name (and maybe a picture) and include details such as name, occupation, age, gender, education, computer and web experience, religious background and involvement and how they will use the site. 

What are the names of your personas? Do these "people" represent at least 60% to 80% of your website users? Does your website navigation, branding, or tone present any stumbling points for the user personas you identified? Answering these questions will help you create the best possible site for your users.

Dig Deeper:

http://boagworld.com/usability/an-experience-with-site-personas/

http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/long-live-the-user

written by

Paul Bresenden

President & Creative Director

Tags: web, site navigation, user personas, identity target audience