Catering to Your Audience

Websites are competing for viewer attention. The age and learning styles of intended audiences are essential in planning a successful website. Sites that appeal to their viewers and satisfy their needs keep their viewers coming back.

Audiences as young as preschool age can find websites that are geared for them. Since many kids in this age group cannot read, this poses an interesting usability obstacle for web designers. The creators of PBSkids.org have found great ways to overcome this complication and produce a noteworthy choice for both parents and their children.

PBSkids.org is a fun interactive website designed for preschoolers. The intended audience is obvious with their bright use of colors and pictures. The color jumps off the screen. There are very few words and instead character icons, along with mouseovers, read the links to viewers. The categories are also named as the mouse hovers over different choices: coloring, games, videos, and music. This appeals to both aural and visual/nonverbal learners. The site is uncluttered and children can easily learn how to navigate areas as they click on their favorite characters. The culturally diverse characters are usually familiar and originated from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television station. The site offers many hands on learning activities with games and coloring options that appeal to the active learner.

Another user friendly, active learning website is howstuffworks.com. Anyone interested in finding explanations and solutions in almost any subject area will find this site helpful. Although, any age group could find valuable information, much of the subject matter is more appealing for adults.

There is a useful navigation bar at the top of the screen that categorizes different types of information.

This site is designed to incorporate a wide variety of learning styles. Users have multiple choices on how to get information about how things work. There is a great deal of written text for the visual/verbal style preference. Tactile/kinesthetic users can interact in several ways. There are polls, a place to ask questions, trivia questions, and even a place to drag and drop puzzle pieces.







There are numerous videos and pictures that would appeal to the visual/nonverbal seeker. Article content is also arranged in numerical order of importance which would appeal to the sequential learner.



Although there is a vast amount of text on this website, it is well organized and can be easily navigated making the goal of the site a realistic one. The typography is limited to few fonts and colors and it flows nicely. The orange headings are identifiable and the content is arranged accordingly.

Regardless of your learning style, howstuffworks.com is a user friendly, informative, website that surely keeps viewers going back for more.



Sources:
Learning Styles and Strategies by Richard Felder and Barbara Soloman

Characterizing Audience for Informational Web Site Design by Jennifer Turns and Tracey S. Wagner