Perhaps I’ve covered this several times but it is worth returning to the question, why do so many organisations struggle with the purpose of their website? Why do their sites lack purpose?
The purpose of the organisation and the purpose of their website are different but closely related. I would expect the website to support the organisation’s wider purpose in some way.
Your website should be designed to meet some purpose of your organisation. If it doesn’t what is it for? The chances are you are being short-changed in some way. This can happen where you ask someone to design your site who provides technical assistance but has no interest in its purpose. Disaster looms when web design pools your ignorance with the designer’s.
So, here are some key things that can go wrong:
1. You do not Know Your Organisation’s Purpose
When the client does not know their organisation’s purpose, it is a problem for the conscientious website designer or consultant. Where the purpose is not clear there are two possibilities; the organisation may be unaware of its need for a purpose or else they don’t know how to express it (we’ll know when we see it).
The consultant has to navigate between Scylla and Charybdis, where on the one hand they let the client down by designing a site that becomes a burden to them because it cannot possibly meet their unarticulated needs or else they risk alienating their client by intervening in a sensitive area.
2. The Organisation Resists Finding its Purpose
If you think organisations are grateful for an offer to help them articulate their purpose, think again! It’s not easy for a designer to get access to information they need when their client does not think it’s any of their business. This may be a problem where the client has a clear purpose but doesn’t see why their designer should be interested in it.
There seems to be two intertwined problems here. First, many people find the process of determining their purpose, with any degree of thoroughness, tedious in the extreme. This is where marketing might come into play. Finding fun approaches to building a picture of an organisation’s purpose should be a possibility.
The other problem is that the client finds it threatening. This is harder to approach and the perception can come from many places. You can negotiate a needs assessment with one person and then find opposition comes from another once the work starts and they work out what it is about. I recently wrote a post about needs assessments and audits that explores why this sort of opposition arises.
3. The Organisation may be Unclear About their Website’s Purpose
This can take many forms and may manifest as no clear idea other than wanting a website to the sort of site that includes everything including the kitchen sink.
If the organisation is clear about its own purpose, then this is a good place to start. Working through the organisation’s purpose, using a needs assessment, may help them identify the options. Options can then be prioritised and scheduled.
If you can get that far it is a major achievement. Your client will have a viable plan for their online presence. The next two headings are examples of what can go wrong.
4. The Dash to an Inadequate Purpose or Design
People often come to the table with a clear idea about what they want. They’ve usually seen a someone else’s site and want something similar.
If so, they are not asking for a design. They are seeking technical assistance. That may be OK so long as the designer doesn’t get the blame when things go wrong.
If you take on this technical work, the problem is mission creep. The real purpose of the site begins to emerge at the snagging stage when the client discovers they did have a purpose and their solution doesn’t meet it.
Taking time at the start to explore with the designer or consultant what their solution will actually do and other possibilities will result in a better site. Getting the client to see the value can be a struggle.
5. Not Knowing What is Possible
This may be the most common problem and it can be the easiest to tackle. Technology has moved on so quickly that many people have been left behind. They simply don’t know what is possible because they have old models of web design, lack knowledge and perhaps are fearful.
For example, someone’s first video will not be as good as a video produced by a professional firm. The question for the client is, does it need to be? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. Whilst it might be possible for the client to produce their own videos there may be many reasons why it is not desirable. The important thing is to help the client make an informed decision.
Once the client has clarity about the purpose of their website it is much easier to make decisions about particular approaches to building and maintaining the site.
