When developing a great web design, it’s not uncommon to approach development from a feature-rich point of view. Business web design should offer all the features and elements necessary to create a user-friendly site.
Although this is a natural way of approaching site development, many web design services are realizing that it may not be the most effective method.
Rather than focusing on what is needed to achieve the required output, designers can reach the same goals more easily and effectively by instead focusing on how to get the desired outcome.
What is Output and Outcome Focus in Design?
In the world of web design, there are two basic business strategies used to develop websites to achieve whatever goals a company may have: the output approach and the outcome approach defined as follows:
- Output Focused Design - Output is something done to attract customers. In terms of website design, an output focused strategy is one where web design services concentrate on adding elements and features designed to bring in customers. It includes things such as adding videos and other content designed to promote a service or product.
- Outcome Focused Design - Outcome is the answer to a problem that can be solved with said product or service. In business web design, it translates to the actual benefit customers are seeking when looking to buy a product or service.
Why Output Focused Website Development Can Be Flawed
While both output and outcome are necessary for developing a web design that converts customers, there is a problem with focusing on output first.
An output focus essentially assumes that certain website content and elements will bring in customers without actually addressing what it is the customers want and need.
In reality, while an output-focused strategy might bring traffic, there is a greater risk that unproven assumptions won’t actually convert these visitors. Just because certain features exist does not mean they are what customers actually need.
Reach Website Goals with Outcome Focused Web Design
On the other hand, when web design services approach business web design from an outcome basis, the risks decrease and converting a customer increases.
Start the planning process by first asking what benefit it is that customers are looking for that the product or service can provide, which ends up being more effective.
Researching who the customer is, what their problem is, and how it needs to be resolved puts designers in the best position to create a user-friendly site that achieves these goals.
When the customer’s goals can be achieved through the right product or service promotion, the website achieves its goal of making sales.
In Sum
Ultimately, like everything else in web design and marketing, the goal should be to convert the user by showing them how a product or service can solve their problem.
For web design services to accomplish this, the best approach is to focus on the audience, their problem, and how to achieve the desired outcome. A good understanding of the customer is always at the heart of effective business web design!
