The customer interface can be defined as a simulated reality substitute of an organization proposed terms. It is designed using characteristics of customer interconnection which are; context, content, community, customization, communication, connection and commerce (Kang, 2015).
Context
Depicts the company’s ease of accessing data and has aesthetics which can be defined as the color compositions and the graphic theme. Prioritize on presentation and appearance of the website. The image below represents an aesthetic representation.
Content
Contents can be classified into either product oriented denoting prioritization on transacting with physical commodities, information-oriented denoting those firms focused majorly on information and service oriented denoting firm prioritizing on service delivery (Kang, 2015).
Community
Encompasses intuitive membership of a set where individuals have similar opinions. In the non -existent ones, members have no mode of communicating or interacting with each other. In the limited community, websites only present informative postings and personal beliefs. The strong community gives way to responsive community platforms, for instance, chat rooms (Kang, 2015).
Customization
Customization can be defined as the capability of a website to alter itself or be altered by the individual using it (Kang, 2015). Customization is usually carried out on the following basis;
Personalization:
Initiation and management of the website customization are carried out by the individual user.
Tailoring:
The software system presents distinct forms of the website to attract the user. The user can, therefore, choose the version that best suits his interests.
The image of personalized website
Communication
Communication refers to the process of passing information from one user to the other. The communication models used are;
One-to-many:
Here, the users do not offer any response to the websites messages and presentations.
One-to-many:
Here, the users can respond through comments to the announcements and messages on the website.
One-to-one:
The user can receive personal messages and announcements but cannot offer any response.
One-to-one:
The user can respond to the personalized messages and announcements remitted on the website.
Connection
Connection can be defined as the level of capability of a website joining other websites. Connections can be classified in accordance with
Site destination: Produces website initiated information together with other minute website links.
Hub website: Produces website initiated data with other website links with information relating to that particular information.
Portal website:
Majorly contains other links to majority websites.
Commerce
Commerce refers to website transaction on goods and services (Kang, 2015). Commerce sites can be classified as low, medium and high.
Developing a website
Gathering information
One requires a better understanding of the nature of the company for whom the website is being developed based on purpose, objectives, site content and targeted population (Alkhalifah, 2017).
System planning
It’s initiated using the information gathered in the first step. This is map development stage where major decisions are made on the software and hardware to be used in implementing the site.
System design
The site designer creates a website prototype which is a mere creation of the final website. Clear communication needs to be emphasized to ensure that the requirements of the organization are adequately met before the final site is created (Alkhalifah, 2017).
System development
The designer uses all the elements and features of the prototype and incorporates them to makes the final product. The designer on time to time avails information to the organization to enable corrective actions and improvements. It begins with home page development, shell creation and content site distribution (Alkhalifah, 2017).
System testing and uploading
The web designer carries out comprehensive testing on-site functions, and compatibility. Once the organization or client is content, the site is uploaded to the system servers.
System maintenance
Changes and improvements can be initiated on the system after design. For instance, a content management system can be initiated to enable utilization of online software for website development (Alkhalifah, 2017).
References
Alkhalifah, A. (2017). Developing Mobile Commerce Website Design to Enhance Users Experience. IJCSNS, 17(9), 65.
Kang, J. Y. M. (2015). Customer Interface Design for Co-Creation in the Social Era.
