money

Website Target Demographic

Hint: It’s not for you!

One of my jobs as someone who builds websites is making sure the website I create is designed to work for the owner, which is a lot different than designing it for the owner. If you own a small business and are planning to get a website built, then you need to think about who is going to use your website.

The people who use your website are your target audience.

If you want your website to work for you, meaning, that the people who land on it turn from site visitors into customers, then you have to give them what they need. You have to look at your website from the perspective of your customer, and not from your own point of view and this can be really, really hard for business owners. So often, what a business owner likes and what is best for their business website are two different things, and it can be hard to convince them that their customers perhaps don’t want the same things they want.

It’s vitally important that you understand who your audience is. The more you can narrow it down, the better we can design a website that gives them what they want.

A few examples:

If your target audience is college students, then you want to have a fabulous mobile experience.

If your target audience is senior citizens, having big text is pretty important.

If your target audience is owners of luxury homes, then you probably don’t want to have a website filled with tacky stock photos.

This is why it’s so important to know who your target audience is. It’s the very first question we’ll ask you when we talk to you about your website needs. If you don’t know, then you need to find out. If you say “anyone and everyone” then you may not fully understand your product or what you are selling. Yes, you may want to sell $1,000 fur coats to “anyone and everyone” but probably 20 year-old college students are not going to be in your demographic.

It’s important to design an experience for your user that meets their needs. If you meet their needs, then they’ll be more likely to become a customer. And that’s the goal.

Posted in , | Tagged with
Amy Masson, Web Developer
Owner/Developer

Amy Masson

Amy is the co-owner, developer, and website strategist for Sumy Designs. She's been making websites with WordPress since 2006 and is passionate about making sure websites are as functional as they are beautiful.

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.