Persona

Posted at: 11:04 AM by Marianna

There is a thin line between designing a web site to increase the company's sales and to increase the users' experience.

A clients' main reason for creating a web site or redesigning their existing web site is to increase profit/company sales, which can happen by improving the web site's traffic.

Sometimes Information Architects have the dilemma of whether to design with focus on a client's or a user's needs. Don't get me wrong, both should be taken into consideration, but some circumstances dictate more attention should be given to one than the other.

If we create a new user experience that should strongly promote services and products (Picture 1), persuading more and more people to engage with the page, we have to design a web site with authority, give examples of what other users do and add user testimonials. In general, we should enhance understanding, create persuasive visual design, generate confidence and stimulate desire (How to manipulate website visitors). On the other hand, if we are more user-focused (Picture 2) we should for example: avoid blinking imagery (though it could drive user attention to a service or a product), have no more than one animation per page and provide users with a sense of control.

As Spencer Gerrol and Kim Snedaker discussed at UPA 2008 there is a difference between what users "can do" (usability) and what users "will do" (persuasion) while visiting a website. I believe the best approach, is to ensure that users will have access to all the possible options before proceed to the desired action.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Labels: experience, ia, usability