There is not one correct way of creating a web site design. There are as many variations as there are types of customers. A vital component of website development is user research. If you don't know who your potential customers are, you wouldn't have a website design that caters to them and hence, you won't have a happy audience. There are two major types of user research methodologies: usability testing and focus groups.
The focus groups process begins with a moderator gathering a handful of people representing the target market. A discussion then ensues focusing on the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of the group regarding certain topics, ideas, and designs.
Usability testing is conducted one-on-one. A test subject is guided by a facilitator in testing a system or web page design. Key tasks are explained and the user does the tasks, during which the facilitator scores how well the person is doing. The facilitator also records how the person reacted throughout the experience.
Focus groups have a bigger scope and are relatively cheap compared to usability testing. This method gives us further information about the target market's needs. Of course, these are all theories and concepts. It doesn't indicate how people would be responding to each aspect of the website design. The downside of this approach is that it's not 100% reliable. A dominant person in the group can easily sway the others' opinion.
While usability testing involves less people, it takes higher costs to conduct. It provides more in-depth details about each person and how he or she reacts to your system. Reliability is higher since no one is around to influence the lone test subject.
Both methods provide the owner an incredible insight into how the website developer intended the site to work and how it can be improved upon. Whether you use one or the other depends mostly on the extent of the research already accomplished.
Ideally, focus groups must be performed at the early stages of the project and should be used when information about the target market is still incomplete. If you're developing a new product or service, this method would also work well for you.
Usability testing is ideal when you're reassessing an existing website design. Doing this regularly is advisable to determine the performance of the system.
Both of these approaches pose a tremendous value to how your system can bring the results you want. Knowing your customers should be accomplished before you finalize your website design and periodically from then on. Guessing won't do any good. Invest in these studies and you should have the information you need to succeed.
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