1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,380 [Pasan Premaratne] Once we have a clear picture of our client's motivations and goals, 2 00:00:04,380 --> 00:00:09,190 we need to think about the client's target audience and what they could gain out of the site. 3 00:00:09,190 --> 00:00:15,180 At the end of the day a website is built for the customer. It achieves a certain goal of the company, no doubt, 4 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:17,180 but it will be used by a customer. 5 00:00:17,180 --> 00:00:19,970 So it should be built with that audience in mind. 6 00:00:19,970 --> 00:00:25,300 Our next set of questions will seek to understand more about the client's target audience. 7 00:00:25,300 --> 00:00:30,960 The first thing in this section is understanding who your client's target audience is. 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:36,000 Who are they? What kinds of things do they do? What are their tastes and their preferences? 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,660 In what ways do they use your client's products? 10 00:00:39,660 --> 00:00:47,520 Try to paint as clear a picture as you can of who the target audience is before you start working on a project in any way. 11 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,230 All these factors will help influence and lead the direction of the project. 12 00:00:52,230 --> 00:00:57,510 Next ask them what emotions would they like their customers to feel when using their products. 13 00:00:57,510 --> 00:01:04,700 Even if they can't explain what they want on the site, clients can explain what they want their customers to feel about their product 14 00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:06,700 or when they use their website. 15 00:01:06,700 --> 00:01:12,160 Find out what these feelings are and how you can emulate them in your project. 16 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,130 What is the primary action the user should take when coming to your site? 17 00:01:16,130 --> 00:01:20,080 And what does the client want the customer to do when landing on the website? 18 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,600 Do you want to make the user buy a specific product or do you want them to sign up for a newsletter? 19 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:32,000 Tie the desired audience actions in with the client's goals or outcomes for the website. 20 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,920 After talking about goals and audiences, you can start to talk about what the client really wants to talk about— 21 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:38,920 and that's website features. 22 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:46,870 There's a couple things to keep in mind here. First, be very upfront about the development effort and the cost of building features. 23 00:01:46,870 --> 00:01:52,650 Second, don't try and get the client to suggest how the website should be built. That's your job. 24 00:01:52,650 --> 00:01:58,530 Your task should be to take the problems that the client has and convert them into specific solutions. 25 00:01:58,530 --> 00:02:03,980 If you were a doctor, you wouldn't ask your patient to tell you what medicine you should prescribe him. 26 00:02:03,980 --> 00:02:10,169 Instead you would ask about their symptoms, pains, and problems, and then offer a solution to remedy it. 27 00:02:10,169 --> 00:02:12,400 You're doing exactly the same thing. 28 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,120 So when you talk about feature requests, try and get an idea for things that will make or break the project, 29 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:23,850 but don't give the client the impression that their dictating the look and functionality of the website. 30 00:02:23,850 --> 00:02:26,690 Ask them what do they not want on the site. 31 00:02:26,690 --> 00:02:32,530 Often times clients won't know what they want on the site, and that's why they're hiring you; you're the expert. 32 00:02:32,530 --> 00:02:36,420 But clients will always know what they don't want, what they don't like. 33 00:02:36,420 --> 00:02:40,990 It might be easier for you to get them to list out these features that they're against having. 34 00:02:40,990 --> 00:02:44,770 This way you can offer solutions that are more in line with what they desire. 35 00:02:44,770 --> 00:02:52,300 This will also save you a lot of time from developing features that the client mentions, but then later says that they don't like at all. 36 00:02:52,300 --> 00:02:56,990 Ask them where the website content is coming from and who is responsible for updating it. 37 00:02:56,990 --> 00:03:01,840 Content on the website is very important, and it's what will complete the package. 38 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,890 The website could require large amounts of text, marketing messages, photos, and logos. 39 00:03:06,890 --> 00:03:13,520 All this stuff needs to be given to you. And you need to figure out who is involved so you can get all that information from them. 40 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:19,520 Lots of projects can get held up because you need certain information but don't know where to get it from. 41 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:24,140 Figure out who is responsible, and get in touch with them immediately. 42 00:03:24,140 --> 00:03:31,070 Another thing you will want to find out is who is responsible for updating this content on the website and how web savvy they are. 43 00:03:31,070 --> 00:03:35,050 This allows you to understand the breadth and depth of your proposed solution. 44 00:03:35,050 --> 00:03:39,290 Will you need to implement a content management system, for example? 45 00:03:39,290 --> 00:03:41,450 Then ask them how the site is organized. 46 00:03:41,450 --> 00:03:46,700 Do you need to figure out how the site is implemented on your own or will they provide a site map for you? 47 00:03:46,700 --> 00:03:50,880 These are questions that eliminate unnecessary or additional work down the line 48 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,250 because you weren't provided with the relevant information. 49 00:03:54,250 --> 00:03:59,810 Ask them if there are any sites they find compelling. What specifically do they like about these sites? 50 00:03:59,810 --> 00:04:03,040 Most clients know or should know their competitors' websites. 51 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:09,300 Find out what they like and don't like about them. Clients also have a few sites in mind that they really like. 52 00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:14,880 Try and understand why they like these sites to give you a basic idea of the designs they have in mind. 53 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:19,880 All right. That was it for the fun stuff. Now it's time to get into the administrative details.