Understanding Users vs People with Custom Web Site Design
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
The Difference between Users and People in Custom Web Site Design
It is important to understand what motivates online behavior when creating a custom Web site design. A common mistake is referring to the people who interact with your Web site design through its online resources as 'users'. That would make you, the person responsible for the creation of these resources, a pusher.
These individuals are people and you function as a facilitator. Keeping this in mind will help you to create a better custom Web site design.
People do not only use the information that is presented. They perceive it, absorb it, try to comprehend it, and are affected by it. Then, they decide how to respond to it.
Be Creative in Your Custom Web Site Design
Thinking of Web site visitors in this manner will allow you to stop listening to Web usability experts. Instead you can focus on the practical aspects of creating a custom Web site experience with your design. People are not just mechanically minded robots whose sole motivation is to use their online world as expediently and as practically as possible. Their online experience involves a whole range of emotions and considerations.
Practicality is Not the Motivation for a Custom Web Site Design
People seek fulfillment through social interaction and emotional experiences. The Web sites we visit have the ability to help us become better people. They can enhance our minds and our lives. They can help us to better understand each other, the world, and ourselves.
If practicality is used appropriately in the custom Web site design, it can help fulfill human needs and desires. Using practicality above all other design considerations will drive visitors away from our Web site.
An Interactive Journey Makes a Web Site Design Compelling
Because people are multi-dimensional, an effective Web design will target many different levels that involve psychology, understanding, and creativity.
Technically minded designers confuse interactive design with usability design. Usability indicates a 'users' ability to navigate a Web site and find information quickly. Usability does help people avoid the negative emotion of frustration, but ignores the learning process and the human need for aesthetics gratification. A custom Web site design should be a work of art that is pleasing to the eye and have meaning for the people who encounter it.
Convert Human Motivation into Results for Your Custom Web Site
Learn to communicate with people online effectively. Help them to really understand what the value is of your online resource. Design your Web site as a journey in which people can pursue their interests and goals.
Personalize your Web site to build relationships with your visitors. Use the screen space to aid and inspire their minds. Make sure that all of the resources work as you intended them so you do not frustrate your visitors.
Business objectives and stakeholder needs are often different. Keep both in mind when creating your custom design. Work in a way that keeps the Web site design on time, within budget, and on target.
