There are many ways to explain how to develop a website. It's true, it's not rocket science, but neither is it easily simplified. A wide variety of skills and disciplines are involved. Not all are needed everytime but understanding the relevance of, and relationship between, activities can smooth the path to a successful website.
User Centred Design
We take a user centred approach to web design. This means that we involve website users all the way through the process. We ask people what they want. We think about the best way to deliver this to them and set out our plans. Then we test and re-test our assumptions until we've made something that those people want to use.
Good usability, or user experience, is a result of placing human, rather than technical or organisational needs at the centre of all planning and design decisions.
Return on investment
It might not be the quickest way but a user centred approach is the best way to increase user adoption, create engagement in your brand and get the desired return on your investment (ROI).
Good experiences get results
A user centred approach greatly increases the likelihood of success because it delivers a much better online experience for site visitors. A bad experience is the quickest way to lose a user, and getting them back is verging on the impossible.
Involving the client
The User Centred Design (UCD) process must involve the client all along the way too. You need to be part of the team in a collaboration that is going to have an impact on your business. If you want to hand over a brief and get a site back in a few weeks time, then UCD and UXB are not for you. Good luck!
Focusing on users delivers simple, intuitive, and elegant online experiences that keep people connected to you. They might even recommend you to others.