How Do You Create a Web Site for All Generations?
A few weeks ago I was talking to a couple fellow volunteers who help with our church’s Web site. We were discussing the challenge of creating a site that appeals to everybody. The feedback we’ve gotten from users and potential users can be generally summed up as follows –
Teens and young adults want Facebook-style or IM-style interactivity and plenty of graphics.
Middle-aged folks want information, intuitive navigation, simple design, limited graphics, and the ability to contribute content or ask questions.
Older folks need extremely simple navigation, large fonts, and everything they need laid out in the least number of pages possible.
The common denominator is a desire to feel part of a single community when they come to the site.
Wouldn’t this be true for a business Web site as well? Customers and stakeholders come in all ages, and regardless of age, they have widely varying degrees of comfort and familiarity with the Web. A technically dazzling site, with Flash and online chat, will spook older visitors. A safe, straightforward, and simple site might well draw sneers from the younger and more tech savvy crowds.
So I wonder … what if a site offered information and conversation specifically directed to specific ages and/or target audiences. Imagine tabs on the home page something like this –
If you’re technologically clueless, click here
If you have a clue, click here
If you can give us a clue, click here
Same underlying content, packaged differently to accommodate the communication style and Web comfort level of each individual, would keep everybody tuned in and build that sense of community we’re all looking for.
Are any companies doing this? I’ve not seen it. Is a one-size-fits-all Web site is possible today?
(Photo — Temporal Delirium Combo Cuadro on Flickr by puroticorico)
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What an interesting question - look forward to seeing the responses.
Joanna
PS “If you can give us a clue - click here” - priceless!
Yeah, I love that last choice too, Brad. But take the word “technologically” out of the first one and you’ve got an application for life, too. Some folks have a clue; which of course irritates the fire out of those of us who don’t. Wouldn’t it be nice to include all three choices for everything?
Robert, Joanna. LOL. It’s better your way, for sure! Might be a tad offensive though. People don’t like to admit they’re clueless, except when it comes to technology. Some people wear their cluelessness like a badge of honor, yet they still need to use the Web.
Sounds like we volunteer in similar places, Brad. The companies with one-size-fits-all sites that come to mind first for me? online retailers with broad appeal, like amazon.com.
Found this article about how churches need to start designing for the iPhone: http://tinyurl.com/6s837e - which mentions a blog called Heal Your Church Website. Maybe church sites are the one businesses want to watch?
Brad,
I would definitely tick the first option.
In the case of a church, where there are many different age groups within the one community, I can certainly see why the idea of tailoring the site to suit those of differing age groups has considerable merit.
Whether or not this is appropriate will depend on your target market. An accounting firm, for instance, would need only one web site, specifically aimed at business people - its key target market.
On the other hand, a phone company or internet service provider might be aiming at a clientele with a wide variation in terms of age and technological capabilities, and well consider customization of their site to suit different types of customers.
Barbara, Thanks for that interesting link! From what I’ve seen, most church sites are pretty lame, though there are some amazingly good ones out there. Perhaps I’ll investigate and report back on some of the better ones. Andrew, Definitely some audiences are less diverse than others, but each company has to think carefully about its audience. Some accounting firms have clients who are in their 20’s to 65+. No doubt phone companies, like churches, have the most obvious need for broad appeal. I wonder -do those two areas lag because of bureaucracy?
I think the 1st thing is to realize, how many audiences you can have, and that older people now may play an important role in visiting websites. I know many older people who are heavy web-users. For example the website of “my” university: you have students (interested in more flashy design), you have researchers (simple and straight), you could have press people (how quickly can I find the information), you could have people interested in our events (simple and straight).
I think you can’t have websites for different audiences which are liked the same way by them, you’ve got to find a website which is liked by most of them.
Just my 2 cents,
Ulla
Ulla, You can generalize about age preferences, I think, but there are always exceptions. Maybe breaking down a site along the lines of clueless/clued in makes more sense than making assumptions about age?
Brad In the project I just finished I was working with 16 year olds making suggestions for a social networking site that a large corporation could use to enhance communication amongst its employees. Using what they know and use instinctively they made a wise and interesting presentation to the senior people representing the company who asked great questions. There is potential for a further collaboration across the generations. Regardless of the ages involved though some of the youngsters connected with the recognised social networking sites far less than what we might consider usual - and some of the oldies were really clued into what they were talking about. Like all good projects by making no assumptions some interesting things can emerge. I wonder if reps of all of your groups could collaborate on defining the need and designing the end result!
Jackie, that’s a great suggestion. Why make assumptions when you can simply ask? Your comment made me think of the Tom Hanks movie “Big”. Remember that one? When Hanks went to work for the toy company, some of the “grownups” got it, and others didn’t. But the ones who got it and listened - they profited!
This is a great question, with a complicated and multi-faceted answer. I truly believe that you can create a website that is geared to each of these different audiences. However, appealing to everyone I think is impossible.
So how do you gear the website towards all of your audiences? Address them all on the main page of your site. But create similar pages for each of these audiences, kind of like how you pointed out above. But don’t make them so blatantly obvious. Get creative.
For example, for a church website, the link for the young, “Facebook” generation could read “Youth News and Activities,” and so forth.
I would be interested to hear about what others’ opinions are about these ideas. Please let me know!
Erica, Thanks for your ideas. One point that’s definitely coming out of this conversation is this - you need to know your audience.