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The Implications of Online Consumer Behavior on Web Site Design The e-commerce business has become very competitive and customers now dictate how they want web sites to look and function. Web site designers have to have an idea of who their target audience is and they need to design a site accordingly as well as be aware of the technology, which is likely to be used. When designing a web site a designer should attempt to make a universal site that will be attractive to different people, since consumers are people of different backgrounds. One of the most interesting things about the Web is its diversity in information. This same diversity applies to consumers who use the Internet. The design industry embraces a wide range of disciplines.
Professional web designers make key decisions about function, shape, color, form, style, material, and layout. The work of the web design industry can be defined as influencing the relationship between people and the objects, messages and places they encounter every day. A web page that is aimed to provide services or products needs to be liked by a consumer, because why then a consumer would spend the time on the web site that is not pleasing his or her eyes? In the development of a business web site, it is vital to focus on the type of product or service to be offered. The elements and themes of a web site are mainly up to designer; however, it would be great to include objects or themes that are related to the product sold or service offered. This immediately gives consumer an idea of whether he or she is at the right site or not.
Consumers have a whats in it for me mentality. They are more apt to buy (or interact with a Web site) only when they think, feel, see and understand how the featured product or service will help make their life or job easier. If the consumer is convinced that he or she has found the site to match the needs then there is no doubt left that he or she will make a purchase. A site has to be similar in its style and layout as the people it would be aimed at could be old, middle aged or young customers. Actually, majority of sites are oriented for the certain type of audience, which means that the designer should first know what the target audience is and what this target audience would prefer to see on the web page. Having decided the target audience the next step was to decide upon the style, and layout of the information we wish to include in the site.
If a web site is designed for an international audience, a designer should take some time to accommodate audiences needs in the design (given the nature of the Internet, a designer should expect that not all of visitors will be from one specific country). This may amount to little more than choosing universally recognizable icons for the menu However, it may also mean avoiding potentially offensive material in the design by looking at it from a different perspective, which is the perspective of another culture. A designer should keep in mind that what his or her colleagues or friends think is good design and content, may not be what is best for the target audience. Design itself plays a very important role.
The web page is 2 D object, which means that its design should be very professional in order not to make consumers feel uncomfortable while working with the computer. A great idea is to create web pages with Flash objects, because it makes a page to be more alive. At the stage of planning, a designer should imagine how the future web site would look like. Whether realistic or symbolic, icons, buttons, graphics, and content should remain clear in meaning, consistent in use, and help to reinforce the theme a designer has selected. Everything should be interconnected.
By adhering to this approach, a designer will save many hours of revision later on. A successful web site must convey a message in both written and unwritten form. Good thematic choice is designers best bet in meeting the challenge of a creation of a web site that will be popular among consumers. Designers cannot control what their pages look like all the time, but the sign of a good site is that it will perform well on different platforms and browsers, designers should invest time to ensure this. Large, dynamic database-driven sites often use complex scripts and serving environments to pull together content from various sources, then compile it into HTML. First thing each designer should remember is browser compatibility.
Not everyone who uses the Internet uses the same browser. Web sites will be displayed differently depending on the browser. For example, some older browsers do not except JavaScript. Therefore, a consumer may have some difficulties in browsing the site.
The main goal of a web site is to be accessible by as many people as possible and a web site designer has to overcome the problem with browser compatibility. It is suitable to include links to all the pages a site on the main page, so people with older browsers could also navigate around the site fully. Actually, a designer should test pages on the two most popular browsers (Netscape and IE) to ensure site functioned properly, since today these two browsers are used by the majority of consumers. The Web is just as much a public space as our downtown office buildings and suburban shopping malls. By not being aware of, or taking the time to implement, common Web accessibility measures and guidelines. But while the software automates many core usability and accessibility solutions, humans must ultimately decide whether a design has a usability problem.
As with all usability, the design is based on the need to create good human interaction, which is important not to take the human out of the design process. Regardless of motives of a designer, any web site attempts to have return consumers. A site owner definitely wants consumers to come back a second or third time, which means that a designer has to offer them some incentive. That incentive should be the same motivation that spurs a designer on in developing a web site. If a designers purpose is to educate, he or she should try to keep the site content fresh and above all, credible. Any web site that wants to be successful should possess some information that is needed.
In the creation of business, related site a designer should look at the site as a consumer would. However, it may be a hard task, because a designer or a group of designers can think differently than a consumer would. Nevertheless, it is the main goal of a designer to understand precisely what a consumer is looking for and how the web site should be designer in order to make a consumer comfortable while browsing it. A web page should be consumer friendly. A designer should pay particular attention to concepts such as closure, feedback, consistency, simplicity and visibility to ensure the designed pages were user friendly.
A site should have pleasant interfaces, which are intuitive, easy to use and allow both novice, and expert users to use effectively the site. The content of the site is relevant, and the language used is appropriate for the target audience. The site needs to have a good balance between aesthetic appeal, functionality, and download time making it quick and easy to use, causing minimal stress to consumers. Software producers and designers agree that any improvement in accessibility for consumers with disabilities will also make it easier for other consumers to navigate the Web.
A web designer should also pay close attention to designing a web site for a consumers with disabilities. Technical accessibility is not enough to make a website easy to use for a consumer. The main task of a designer is to design a web site that will require reasonable amount of time for a consumer to get what a consumer wants. Users with disabilities are humans and need easy and simple user interfaces just like anybody else. Despite the overall progress in the web site design most Internet sites sill remain to be complicated for users with disabilities to use. A web site can possibly have some optional appearance for consumers with disabilities, so they will not experience problems viewing it.
Certainly, it is hard for a designer to remember about all single guidelines and steps of developing the web site; however, today there are programs to assist designers. The actual design process of the web site is one of the most important steps in having a successful web site. The colors, backgrounds, images, and text that are chosen will either attract customers or repel them. Web sites can be laid out in one of two ways, using a frameset or using a scrolling page layout. A scrolling page layout consists of one main page that serves as the navigational point for the entire site. A frameset page consists of several pages that are laid into a type of blue print that divides what the visitor sees into sections, each section containing one page.
Color is used to express meaning in almost everything in our daily lives. Some colors invoke certain feelings or expectations relative to the culture or society we grow up in. Other colors convey a universal meaning (yellow and red as warnings or cautions for instance). How a designer chooses colors for a web site will have a huge effect on how consumers perceive the message and whether they will come back again.
The choice of design and color are crucial. A designer has the power to control the mood of consumers by using the right colors. Human emotions are influenced by color choices. The right combination is essential because it is the first thing people notice and often is the last thing they remember.
Color schemes and backgrounds are also very important in the design process. Using bright loud colors such as yellow and pink as background colors might discourage...
Free research essays on topics related to: product or service, target audience, first thing, main goal, design process
Research essay sample on Product Or Service Target Audience
