Steps of a redesign

Overview
Goals
Time estimate and team
Content review
Site structure and navigation
Finalize timeline and content
Visual design development
Production and proofing
Launch and maintenance

Define your audience: user profile*

A clear user profile will help you develop a strategy that communicates effectively to your audience.

Using the input from potential users, follow these steps in order to complete your profile

• Determine whether your audience is inside the university, college, department, or unit. Are you making an internet or an intranet? What is the audience's level of familiarity with who you are and what you do?
• Identify the category your target group is in (student, faculty, staff, corporate partners, donors, alums, etc.)
• Identify the level of subject expertise within that group (are you writing for a general or academic audience?)
• Determine the order of their information preferences, or which pieces of information users want first, second, third, and so on (i.e., the dean's office is rarely their first stop)
• Define audience characteristics such as location, gender, age, or lifestyle preferences when they are relevant
• Describe scenarios of use, or those situations or circumstances under which the site may be used—high-school student in a counselor's office? on-campus student in a lab? continuing student learning online with lots of distractions? extension audience from their homes?
• Describe your users' range of abilities, and account for vision, hearing, mobility, or cognitive impairments
• Describe your users' environments, and note any environmental challenges such as poor lighting or noise, and any technical challenges such as screen size and number of colors
• Identify users' level of technical expertise in using a web site (their expertise will affect decisions regarding the technical sophistication of the design)
• Determine what hardware and browser software your audience uses
• Identify what monitors and screen resolutions your audience uses

 

*Taken from IBM's site-planning guide