Media: Guuui talks Business-Centred Design for Websites

In traditional user-centred design, focus is on users' needs and their use of the product, while marketing is left to the marketing department. On the web, argues "Business-centred design: Designing web sites that sell" by Henrik Olsen, usability and marketing go hand in hand. 'Whether commercial or not, a web site has to meet the need of its users and at the same time convince them to take action, for the objectives behind the site to be met,' he says.

'For a site to meet its strategic objectives, it has to orient and direct its target audience through the process of conversion, whether that conversion is buying a product, subscribing to a newsletter, making a phone call, or exploring related information. To incorporate such objectives, we have to think beyond the boundaries of ease of use.'

Olsen cites the work of Brian Eisenberg from Clickz.com in the article, endorsing the view he takes of information architecture: 'Things go wrong when information architects look at content solely as a structure that has to be organized into vertical hierarchies.' Ultimately, it is not about manipulating, but about making paths of behaviour clearly available.

Associated Link: Guuui.cm: Business-centred design

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