Using Personas to Guide Effective Web Design
ArcStone | September 2020
Know Your User
You can have the most visually stunning site, overflowing with simply incredible content, but unless it is tailored to the right user for your business, all of your efforts will be wasted. You’ll have the web equivalent of a delicious, exquisitely decorated ice cream cake made for someone who is lactose intolerant.
User Personas Can Help Identify Targeted Users
This is where user personas can help. A user persona is a fictional representation of a user within your targeted base. It’s basically a character you flesh out with details like age, gender, occupation, hobbies, likes/dislikes, and sometimes, even a distinct personality. By designing for a specific (imaginary – but data-based) person, you avoid the common pitfall of designing for every possible user, which basically equates to designing for no one at all.
Personas help to focus product decisions by adding a layer of real-world consideration to the conversation. UX Pin
Personas can be as detailed or minimalist as you’d like, as long as they present a full picture of what motivates your website users to engage with your products and services, any hesitations and concerns they might have (i.e. obstacles to engagement), and any expectations they might have for the type of interaction you’re encouraging.
Personas also include digital habits. Are your users active on social media, do they prefer chat functionality over email?
More than anything else they must explain what questions users have and where they are in the “buying process”. (Note: “buying” means buying into a site’s offering, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, filling out a contact form, or purchasing a product.)
Creating Personas
Personas should be data-driven; they should not be based on who you think your targeted users/customers are. Though there are many ways to go about gathering the necessary data, most methods adhere to this basic process:
- If applicable, speak with the client. They will often have helpful insights into their users’ behavior based on previous marketing research, website analytics, or other data they’ve collected.
- Speak with users to understand who they are and what they want. Ask them questions about how they really use the site, why they use it, what problem the site solves for them, and what frustrates them.
- Look for patterns in the interviewees’ responses and group accordingly.
- Create a primary and secondary persona. Complete a job story for each persona:
Source: Intercom
- Walk your personas through the “buying process”; document the steps necessary for them to complete their stated goals.
- Use the personas to guide your site’s design and development.
And as always, contact us with questions! We offer persona development and audience interview services. By understanding and prioritizing all of your audiences, we can help you tailor copy, landing pages, email, social messages and more to help increase your conversion rates.
