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Australian weather and the seasons The Australian Gold Rush European discovery and the colonisation of Australia Sydney Olympic Games, 2000 Convicts and the British colonies in Australia Great Barrier Reef Australian Indigenous cultural heritage The Great Depression Modern Australian fashion Australian food and drinkGuide 5. What will I do with my website?
Your website's users: how will users access your website and from where? (screen 3 of 9)
The answer to this question is important.
For example, if your site has education content aimed at schools, your Web screens must allow for the fact that many schools have lower end computers and slow modems(1). Modems may be slow because of the bit rate. Currently new modems are usually 36.6kbps (kilobits per second) or 56kbps but many older ones are 28.8kbps or even 14.4kbps.
If you have identified your target audience and you know they will be using slow computers, modems and connections, that pretty much rules out sound and video, large graphics or many graphics.
Design your website to suit your target audience's technology level
If you use large files on your website, then using your website will be a time-consuming and frustrating experience for your target audience - and they won't want to use your site again.
One way around this is to provide an alternative text-only version of your website if you have the resources available - and users can choose which version best suits their equipment and circumstances.
If your site is designed for access by large organisations which you know have access to high-end computers and fast Internet connections, you can add a few bells and whistles without negatively impacting on usability.
If the general public is expected to be the main audience for your site, keep in mind that they must pay their ISP for the time they spend online. Help them get the most out of their Internet visit with fast download times, and provide them with a simple and easy to use navigation system.
Encouraging the users to return
Will users return to the site after their first visit? Why would they want to?
Users are not interested in returning to a site that does not change, or is not updated, or does not contain useful services or information to which they may want to refer.
This means your site should be updated frequently with the latest information from your organisation, such as media releases, reports or research undertaken, new additions to collections, new online exhibitions and so on.
Your website should be designed so that it is fast, easy to use and attractive.
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References
- Guide 6 screen 3 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g6/s3.htm
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