Topic 4 - Digital Design

1. In two paragraphs explain why a customer centric Web site design is so important, yet so difficult to accomplish.

One thing i hate is a website that is hard to navigate, the common benefits of creating a 'customer centric' website are increased sales. If a customer can easily navigate your webpage and you have the product they are looking for that increases your chance of a sale. The website must offer a easy transaction from start to finish which is appealing to the customer (from finding the item, information regarding the item, reviewing the item, purchasing the item, or giving feedback)

Why is it so hard to find? Simple, everybody is different. A design that suits someone isn't going to suit someone else, that's life. What businesses need to do is find a design that balances between different people. The design needs to be easily navigated and offer a smooth process. If customers like your site they will continue to use it and recommend it to their friends.

2. Define the term ‘presence’. Write an additional paragraph that describes why firms that do business on the Web should be more concerned about presence than firms that operate in the physical world.

presence - pres·ence - (The Free Dictionary, 2013)

• The state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing.
• Immediate proximity in time or space.

Website presence means having your page positioned so it can be found when a customer searches for it, chances are if your site isn't seen in the first few pages of a search it wont be found at all. A organisation who runs a a internet only site needs to ensure they have a well found website presence so ensure success of the business.  

3. Usable Doesn’t Have To Mean Ugly ‘for a web design to be truly beautiful, it has to be functional, have purpose and contribute in some way to the website’s intuitiveness, usefulness and branding. All of these things contribute to the overall effect of a design’. This is a quote from one of the articles on web design linked on Web pages that suck. Find a web page that ‘does not suck’ and discuss the features that make it work. A website i LOVE is THEICONIC. Possibly the one of the best sites, i think even my Nan could use this site. It is easy to navigate around and takes less than a minute to find something, and buy it. Features of the site: Offers a search bar to search for what you are looking for. Offers a livechat help function which has a maximum wait time of 3 minutes Has the 'Contact us' Number in the header of the site which is easily visible on all pages of the site Is NAB and Norton Security approved so it is safe Has paypal purchasing - which is the safer, easier way to pay.