2.1: Goal identification

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 93882

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Know the website's purpose

To begin with, you need to identify the website’s end goal, usually in close collaboration with the client or other stakeholders. Questions to explore and answer in this stage of the design and development process include:

Who is the site for?
What do they expect to find or do there?
Is this website’s primary aim to inform, to sell (ecommerce, anyone?), or to amuse?
Does the website need to clearly convey a brand’s core message, or is it part of a wider branding strategy with its own unique focus?
What competitor sites, if any, exist, and how should this site be inspired by/different than, those competitors?

Determining a websites purpose is the most important part of any web design process. If these questions aren’t all completely answered, the whole project can get off headed in the wrong direction. Make sure you understand the website’s target audience, and develop a working knowledge of the competition.

Whether you’re starting from from the very beginning, or you’re doing a total redesign of an existing website, you need to know what you want a user to take away from your new site. What do you want to communicate with the content? What calls to action need to be woven in? Understand what these focal points are so you create a design that magnifies them.

A website should not be a stand alone site, but should fit into a company’s broader strategy. It needs to complement the company's strategy as well as add value of its own. It’s fine if the website just provides a slice of fluffy entertainment — if that is really what the client wants. But ultimately, a website should help fill the gap between what customers know, and what your client wishes their customers knew.