Identifying Audiences and Communication Goals

When clients reach out for a website redesign, we know that the website itself is not the goal. Instead, it is a tool to help companies achieve a specific business need. At Codename Design, we take a content-first approach to web design, ensuring communication goals come first. We start with an audience analysis that breaks down audiences’ goals when visiting the website, then establishes how each visit should be measured for success. With Wirefire, we took a values and culture-based approach to telling their story on the website. We wanted to put the human side of the company at the forefront by focusing on their team, a group of highly skilled, experienced people. We started by defining the story of the team and culture before we outlined their services. We wanted to know what was unique about the company. As we started testing, however, we realized that the majority of users were looking for the list of services first and the team second, so we flipped the order of the information. The site needed to do more to speak to Wirefire’s primary audience (potential clients with high levels of domain knowledge). As a result, the site’s primary focus became more of a technical description of services. While the focus on the team’s values, experience, and working culture was important, it would be showcased in its own section with a slightly different look and feel.