Return to Class Session #2

For this topic, we will focus on technology. There are three ways to approach this concept as a question:

1st - what does your customer need to use your site
2nd - what do you need to create and manage your site
3rd - what do you need from the Web hosting company to support your customers needs and your needs.

You begin with the customer because you should be designing for them, not for you. This is the heart and soul of the marketing concept and essential to good business practice. Everyone from amateur advertisers to amateur Web designers trip over this hazard. The temptation is to design to suit your sensibilities, or to show off, rather than to design for functionality or customer needs. 

So, start with the customer's system and circumstances. Next consider what you want to have as content and what you need the site to do in order to be successful in satisfying your customer's needs and in being economically feasible for you as a seller. Lastly, find an ISP and Web host that can implement your technology.

1st - Design to Audience Technology - Forget the bells & whistle and recognize that your audience sets the ultimate parameter, their technology. You may need to design to the lowest common denominator of technology users (larger market) rather than the cutting edge of technology users (a tiny market).

...technology. This is a "parameter: that will drive our planning function. Decide what technology your customer will typically be using to view and interact with your website. Are they experienced online shoppers or new to the web or both and all possibilities in between? If you have an "all possibilities in between" market then define and build for each distinct target market you have.

Audience Technology Profile - describe each target market using the following checklist:

• Equipment
• Browser
• Operating System
• System Settings
• Connectivity
• Technical Sophistication

Customer We usually assume that the customer has a fairly low technology common denominator. You can start with the following technology assumptions about their technology and adjust from there for your target market.

• Assume they have a 14" or 15" monitor
• Assume they have set screen resolution to 640 x 480 (72 ppi)
• Design the page interface by designing for a viewable space of about 600 x 300 pixels, that starts as 640 x 480 pixels then subtracts for the browser and operating system borders top, bottom, left and right
• Assume a 28K or 56K modem
• Assume they use Internet Explorer as their browser
• Assume they are impatient

For the Customer you should do the following: