However, persona based design can become quickly, resource and budget intensive, with the result that the Web team reduces the numbers of persona and hence runs the risk to neglect certain key aspects . An alternative to leverage your offline profiles to the Web is to enhance them with the following standardized online profiles:
- Level of site visitor knowledge about the company, which ranges from “site visitor doesn’t know company” to “site visitor knows company or its brand”
- Level of user knowledge about company’s products and services, which ranges from “site visitor doesn’t know them” to “site visitor knows the various products and services”
- Level of site visitor knowledge about company’s Web site, which ranges from first-time visitor to returning visitor.
- Level of site visitor’s Web experience, which ranges from Web novice to Web expert.
These online profiles have all their specific online needs, which Web designer need to address with specific Web features and Web content such as for example.
Site visitor doesn’t know company or brand:
- Critical usability features: home page provides category links to major site section (expand with sub-category links the strategic site sections), link the company profile directly from the home page (history, mission statement), provide regular news (headlines) on the home page, link to customer list and customer success stories from the home pages.
Site visitor doesn’t know company’s products and services:
- Critical features: navigation bar used as a marketing tool (expand generic entries into named categories) and complement it by expanding products and services section on home page using link category approach.
First-time visitor:
- Critical features: home page provides category links to major site section (expand with sub-category links the strategic site sections). If Web site provides online tools then link from the home page to a “First-time User Section”.
Returning visitor:
- Critical features: don’t change navigation pages too much. If you change them, then clearly indicated that there is a new link/service available or announce in the news (e.g. place a hook) or at best provide a dedicated news section on the home page, if you are constantly adding site features
Web Novice:
- Critical features: consistent navigation, navigation clues, clear intuitive link names.
Web expert:
- Critical features: Quick-access list-boxes, changes of link colors, consistent page title (placement, format, positioning), navigation page lengths not exceeding 1 screen (more experienced Web users scan pages to find as fast as possible a link, they do not read them nor do they scroll pages).
