Many website designs (or redesigns) are fully functional and usable. This is a good thing. Time and knowledge has taken us away from GeoCities type web sites to ones that we can easily use today.

But when you look at the best website designs, you’ll find that still, there is a key element missing. What could be missing? Designers today regularly make sure that they’re designs adhere to all the web design best practices:

Page layout? Check.
Browser compatibility? Check.
Navigation? Check.
Colors, Fonts, Graphics? Check.
Multimedia? Check.
Content presentation? Check.
Search Engine Optimization? (Well, somewhat, so yes, check.)
Functionality and even usability? Check. More on the former than latter.
Accessibility? Not always, but it’s given some thought, so yes, check.

Well, that’s about it. Or is it.

How about the key element for the best website design: starting your design process with the target audience and their success metrics at the outset of the design process, not the end of the design process.

Most designers utilize the checklist above at the outset but make usability something you do after the comp or initial design stage.

This is wrong.

You need to build the DNA of the target audience into the process very EARLY on. This gives you not only a better website design, but one that has a large chance for post launch success because you’ve built it for the people that plan on using it (or buying from it) from the get go.

This is the key feature that often goes missing. Correct this in your website design approach and your clients or your web customers will thank you with increasing revenues, visits and long term loyalty.

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