Juggernaut > Web site design > Goals

Web surfers are goal-driven

Every visitor to a web site is trying achieve a specific goal. This goal will vary widely for each visitor, and even for different visits by the same person. The long-term success of a web site depends on it being able to meet the goals of its visitors.

Visitors can be classified into three broad categories:

• The Reader is looking for specific information about a topic. They may be researching a purchase, looking for technical support or just trying to learn more about a topic.
• The User is at your site for a specific purpose. You probably know what this purpose is, because sites with Users are fairly specialised. Perhaps they are on a site to shop, to book a holiday or to chat with associates.
• The Surfer is just filling in time on the web. They don't have any pressing need to achieve anything. They just want to be entertained.

Just as there are three types of visitors to sites, there are three categories of sites:

• The Library is a repository for information about the site's area of specialisation. The Juggernaut site is predominantly a library.
• The Mall is a site which offers a service or range of services to Users.
• The Arcade caters to Surfers. These sites use all the latest whizz-bang technology to create a multimedia experience the Surfer won't forget in a hurry.

The Reader and the Library

The sort of web site that has Readers is generally a reference site of some kind. It will contain detailed information about the products or services of the organisation who owns the site. Most corporate sites have content of this nature. These sites seek to inform visitors of the range of products and services the organisation offers or to provide support for these products.

Often Readers will be customers or potential customers of the organisation. They will be researching a purchase or obtaining support for something they have purchased. It is important to look after the needs of these visitors as they supply the life-blood of the organisation. The site must help these visitors reach their goal.

The User and the Mall

The User is a very special visitor to the web site. If the site is an e-commerce site Users are customers looking to buy goods. If the site has a forum or offers some special service, Users are the people this service is targetted to.

Users are the source of the site's revenue. They need to be looked after very carefully indeed. The site must help these visitors reach their goal.

The Surfer and the Arcade

I'm sure we've all done some Surfing at some time or another. We've checked out the Macromedia Site of the Day or the winner of some award. We've oohed and aahed at the amazing animations and been blown away by the razzle dazzle. I'll put my hand up... I've got two bookmarks to such sites!

But when we're Surfing (as opposed to reading or using the web) we're not in the frame of mind to buy products or utilise services. Making a Library or Mall site appeal to Surfers is not worthwhile. Surfers aren't going to be interested in the underlying content or services of the site.

Surfers may generate revenue at some stage in the future if they like the products and services they see on the site. It is only important to help Surfers meet their goal if they have the potential to return to the site as a Reader or User in the future.

The Implications

The User and the Reader are the two kinds of visitors from which the web site generates revenue. Helping these users reach their goal must be the primary aim of a web site.

The current trend in web site design is to create the Arcade type of site. Lots of Flash. Lots of rollovers, slide-outs and pop-ups. The resulting site appeals to Surfers but only at the expense of putting barriers in the way of Users and Readers.

It is our opinion that a web site should primarily cater for Readers and Users, the visitors who actively generate revenue for the site. Any elements of the site which don't assist these visitors to achieve their goal should be reconsidered. It may still be possible to build a parallel site which appeals to Surfers, and which links back into the core site which is designed primarily for Readers and Users. This structure has the added benefit of actively trying to convert Surfers into revenue-generating users.

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