My Dad wants to start a podcast for his finance advice, and needs a place where he can make posts and dictate who can see certain information. For example, members should be able to make a free account but they will not be able to see all the information. My Dad needs to be able to create his podcasts/blog posts, and easily manage who can see what.
I will have two main groups of end users. The first is my Dad, who has some tech knowledge, and the second is my Dad’s clients. The clients will have very varied tech know-how, some may not be confident using devices. The common denominator of the end-users will be wanting to learn about finance/money.
The website will need to be easy to use following common website conventions. It will also need to feel nice and clean to use, especially because some users will be paying for the service.
Replace this text with a description of your typical end-users and their specific needs / expectations / requirements.
I will make a website for my Dad where he can make posts containing text, images and videos. These posts can be set to be accessible by different tiers. People with a free tier will only be able to see lower tier posts, but people with a higher tier will be able to see everything. People with higher tier accounts will be able to make their own posts or post comments.
Replace this text with a brief statement about the system that you intend to create, including the key functionality it should have.
Functionality is essentially something that works and is useful. Information or data displayed should be accurate. The website should work as expected.
My website must display advice that is accurate. As the website is for financial advice, we do not want to provide the users with false advice as this could seriously affect their living situation. For example, we don’t want to let people with free accounts make posts as these could be malicious or misleading. Therefore we must only allow people to post if they have been permitted.
I will need to ensure that my website functions as intended. I could do this by testing each feature after it’s added, and throughout the development of the site. I will also use multiple other people to trial out my website who have a range of technical knowledge as they may pick up on things that I don’t notice.
Usability is how easy the website is to use.
It is crucial that this service is usable. If the users find the site frustrating or difficult then they will obviously not want to pay for the site.
I will need to make my site as easy and intuitive to use as possible to ensure that a wide variety of people will be able to utilise and enjoy my site. I can do this by abiding by Neilssen’s Usability Heuristics. When I test the site I will need to use a wide variety of people to ensure that my site is easy to use for people of different technological and financial skill sets.
Aesthetics is how the website looks and feels. Things like the colour, layout and vibe about the website.
Having a website that is aesthetically pleasing is a very important aspect to consider when designing a website. Users will not enjoy using the site if it is unpleasant to look at, or the design is laid out poorly.
I will need to consider aspects like my colour palette when moving forward. I should test the website with several different colour palettes to see which one looks the most aesthetically pleasing.
The social implication means how the website affects its users and society as a whole.
My website will have a very wide range of users, that may not have a whole lot in common. I should keep that users of the site must feel safe and not ostracized.
I will need to consider the diverse group of people using the site. People will have different beliefs, cultures and identities. I should use neutral terms and phrasings, and not include polarising language. When testing my site, I should ask if users feel offended by anything. This will guarantee that my site will be socially sensitive and modern.
The accessibility implication means that the site should be available to all end users regardless of their device, capabilities or skill set.
Accessibility is a necessity when it comes to designing a website. Users will have different devices that they use the site on. They will also have different conditions and abilities that will dictate how they use the website.
I should test the website on a variety of devices, such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones to ensure that it is accessible on all devices. I must also make sure that people with different capabilities are able to easily use the site. For example, when deciding a colour palette I should keep in mind that some users may be colour blind. I should check that the palette still looks good by validating this with a colour blind tester.
Products and systems should be genuinely useful and fulfill a real need for a group of end-users.
Usefulness is an absolutely integral component to making anything, especially a website. The website must be useful, otherwise users will go somewhere else to learn about finance, and they will not want to pay for a service that isn’t useful.
I will need to design my website with a lot of thought and care, making sure each element serves a purpose and that it is not cluttered or confusing. I can do this by testing my website with several different end-users and getting their feedback.
It is essential that products and systems should be easy to use for the intended end-user.
Having a site that is easy to use is a necessity when designing a web-product. If the product is not easy to use, end-users will just get frustrated with it and will find finance advice somewhere else. People will not want to pay for a service that they find is difficult to use.
I must place UI elements thoughtfully to ensure that they are not confusing for the user. I want to aim for an ergonomic site that feels good and clear to use. To do this I should follow common website conventions, as well as collect feedback from a wide range of testers.
Imagery used, the identity of the product / brand, and other design elements, should all be used to evoke emotion and appreciation of the product / system.
The website must be desirable for users to want to use it. If the website is not desirable, maybe because it has poor colour choices or UI, users will go to a different site to get their financial advice. The website must look and feel good to use in order for it to be desirable.
I must ensure that the website looks and feels good to use. I can ask testers what emotions they feel when they’re using my site and see if i could tweak anything to make the site give off the image that I would like to present.
Systems should be easily navigable, so end-users can find the content or functionality they need.
Having a website that is easily navigable is crucial to having a successful website. If users cannot easily navigate to what they want to find, they will very quickly become frustrated with the site and will go elsewhere to find their financial information, which is not what we want.
When users are testing the site I will check how long it takes for them to find what they’re searching for. If they struggle to find a certain page then I will need to make a change. Having important pages at the navbar will hopefully ensure that important info is easy to find.