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If You Build it, WHO Will Come?

by Vicki McGoyne
Project Manager at Kansas.gov

It would be foolish to begin construction on a building without knowing who would be using it and for what purpose. Similarly, it is unwise to build a Web site without first identifying the target audience and their needs. Imagine going to all the trouble of building a beautiful, modern townhouse, when your client actually wanted a rustic log cabin!

Your agency may cater to several different audiences - other agencies, citizens, businesses, a specific group of licensees, etc. There are several questions you could ask to help characterize your audience: (Don't try to answer all the questions yourself, ask everyone in your office!)

• What is the age group of the people you assist?
• What would they be looking for at your Web site?
• What is the computer and Internet experience level of your users?
• What is the general education level of your audience?

Once the audience has been identified, you may then determine their needs and goals. You may find that you have several different audiences, and it is important to advocate for them all. One helpful method is to develop personas, which can then be used to represent each audience group. Personas are character sketches based upon actual users. The information required to create the personas could be obtained with surveys, questionnaires, one-on-one conversations, etc.

Once you have identified your audience and created personas, profiles or just a list, revisit your list of goals. In light of your target audience, do you need to revise or refine any of the site goals? Once both are finalized, keep them and review them frequently. Your Web site goals and target audience are the cornerstones upon which the most functional, user-friendly and accessible Web sites are built.

See also:

• Personas: Setting the Stage for Building Usable Information Sites
• Identifying Important Operating Systems
• Identifying Important Operating Browsers