In the previous articles of this minicycle, we learned about the point of view of a graphic designer and a UX designer. We also determined that these are the most important aspects of a website - both visible and invisible. It would seem that, taking these issues into account, our website will be complete wonder and delight! As the classic used to say - nothing could be further from the truth....
Let's start with a quick definition of this whole product owner thing. Such a person - combining analytical, business, marketing and technological knowledge - analyzes the product he manages looking for ways to increase its value. Thus, he is responsible for, for example: planning the work on the product, advertising it and presenting it to contractors, analyzing its quality and performance, detecting and fixing errors or developing its functionality. Knowing his enormous scope of responsibility, we can, in simple terms, compare the product owner to the glue of the entire project. So what will he look at in the context of the website?
Where the bug is born, the Customer quakes
A rather obvious aspect, although not previously mentioned - catching and fixing existing bugs and counteracting them. The more astute among us may mention that for such tasks there is, after all, a testing department and specially prepared test scenarios. This is true, but the responsibility lies with the product owner. Regardless of the personnel structure, one thing is certain - any product with defects, even the most beautiful and logically designed one, will not sell and will not attract customers for a long time.
More doesn't always mean better
Especially when it comes to the volume of the site's code or the size of the files embedded on the site. It is worth taking care not only that the site works, but also that it runs smoothly. In this case, the "tool" of the product owner may become a web developer or seo expert, who will optimize the code of the site, reducing its volume or managing the order of loading scripts on the page. This is quite a thankless and tedious job, but the effort spent to improve the functioning of the site will certainly be appreciated by the audience.
Hello, hello mobiles...
And I don't mean the road to Sochaczew. Mobile devices are the most important window to the virtual world at the moment. Not taking into account the preferences and needs of mobile users is like shooting in the knee. A website regardless of its complexity should be prepared for tablets and phones. How to achieve this? Well, explaining all the secrets of designing for mobile devices is definitely material for a separate article, so let me mention the most important ones - optimization of code and graphics, appropriate size of elements on the screen, good application flow or preparation of a mobile site for use by devices with different specifications (operating system, screen diagonal, display resolution).
Promotion does not mean at cost
Assuming that our site has already been "cured" of any ailments and is ready to present itself to a wider audience, we need to make a very important decision - where and how to promote it. The method and channels of promotion should, of course, be an extension of the nature of the site - for example, a site with interesting gadgets could find a new audience by "letting itself be described" in an industry article, while a site with "fashionable clothes" begs for a lot of photos, a Facebook account and a company Instagram. It is also worth choosing the budget for promoting the site wisely - saving money on it will not bring any benefit, but unwisely placed money is also a certain loss.
Message language vs. marketing
When discussing the text layer of the site, I mentioned the language that should be used in constructing the site. Depending on the product or service being sold, it can be more or less official, professional, or casual, or even almost slang. How we show the product is a direct result of determining the target group. For example - should soccer shoes be targeted at young people or retirees? Then why not think about the preferences of this age group? Colorful, vivid descriptions, full of expression will perfectly reflect the character of the brand, but too much use of frivolous language may put off slightly older potential customers. The key is to maintain balance.
Warm, warm, warmer!
Another issue that touches heavily on UX - the so-called heatmap. Looking a little more broadly, I mean analytics related to user actions - there are special tools available on the web to determine the most visited sub-pages or page elements on which users' attention is focused. This is only a glimpse of the topic, but already these two aspects would allow to identify certain trends in user behavior. The product owner should identify these trends and then use them to improve their experience. I know that this is a vague term, but in this case it is very accurate to say that each case is completely different. It is possible that as a result of such an analysis, we will find an element of the site that, although it should not engage users too much, or a shortcoming that impedes the buying process.
