As web designers and web developers, consider the persona of your client and work towards accommodating that identity.

Why do Web Development Projects Fail?

Often web development projects fail in the sense that an end product would be delivered and the client would have expected something completely different. Having to implement the required changes will most often result in deadlines unmet. The latter sets in when every detail of the client’s brief is not heard, understood or considered. 

Listening to the Message, but Also to the Messenger

Secondary to this, not only are the specs to be considered, but also the way in which they are delivered. This is where an analysis of the client’s persona becomes necessary.  I have previously written on the subject of intelligent listening; which essentially pertains to a hyper-conscious concerted effort to listen.

Listening… requires a concerted effort. Listen patiently, attentively and carefully. Listen critically. Listen sympathetically. Being “heard” means being "seen'".

5 Ways to Determine Your Client’s Persona

Let’s break it down into manageable segments. The idea is to pay attention to your clients, and to assign apparent characteristics to them. Consider asking the following questions:

Number 1:
Which one of these three areas are most mentioned in a client’s brief: The importance of textual information, aesthetics or functionality. One of these three elements will take priority in developing their website.

Number 2:
What type of questions surface regularly? Questions indicate areas of specific interest.

Number 3:
What catches their immediate attention?  This indicates something that might impress or fascinate to a certain degree.

Number 4:
What do they assist upon? Assistance indicate factors that are crucial and often not negotiable.

Number 5:
Which subjects do they shoot down / interrupt / or begin to wonder off upon? This indicates a lack of priority, yet not necessarily a lack of requirement.

Your findings will enable you to build a client persona, and from there on, structure a hierarchical priority list.

Structuring Priorities According to the Client’s Persona

As a project manager, developer or designer, you might have the knowledge and experience to know that certain areas, such as navigation, convention, on-page SEO and so forth needs attention. However, I still recommend that one should organise each aspect in a hierarchy of priority, and this hierarchical plan should be directly determined from the observational analysis of your client’s persona.

Next Week

Secondary, yet equally important (if not more important) are those specific personas of your client’s target audience. This is to be analysed and supported in every possible component of the website.

See next week’s blog post for part two of this series, which will discuss various target audience personas and how to go about catering for them.

Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital marketing agency. For more information contact 012 664 4227 or email to info@soundidea.co.za

Carla van Straten is a writer for Sound Idea Digital | Carla@soundidea.co.za | www.soundidea.co.za | @SoundIdeaLMS