Designing for Multiple Audiences

Create Separate Sites

The simplest way to target multiple audiences may be to create a separate website with an independent URL for each of the audience groups. For example, if you were to create a website for a hypothetical state-funded laboratory called the Water Quality Monitoring Laboratory, you might create one site for scientists from industry and elsewhere and a separate site for citizens who are concerned about the quality of their water. A third educational site could be set up for teachers and students.

This solution allows you to design each site based on the needs of each audience. Because the sites focus on the needs of a single group of people, they may be easier to use. Scientists would be able to find the amount of chlorine in the water on January 24, 2001 quickly because the site is designed for them and is uncluttered by other irrelevant information. Increased usability will make the sites more accessible to each of their respective audiences.

However, having more than one URL for your organization may cause some problems. Users might have difficulty finding the information they need if they access the wrong website. It is likely that most users will not realize that the organization has multiple websites. Further, if searches reveal all of the websites, it may be unclear that all represent your organization.

 

 

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