Persona Architecture

User Experience Design for Persuasion Persona Architecture: Form Should Follow Function—Even on The Web

It seems obvious enough: first you design the visitor experience required to create persuasion and conversion (i.e., sales), then you build a website capable of delivering that experience.

Yet, that’s not how most websites are built. They’re normally built with all the “traditional” pages that are then “linked” together through a menu (or navigation) bar and a few call-to-action buttons here and there.

The difference between these two approaches is perhaps best illustrated by a story:

An architect had recently completed several new buildings on a college campus and needed to design walkways for that section of the campus.

The traditional way to do this would be to layout some kind of straight-lined, grid pattern and then pave the walkways according to his rectilinear, top-down design.

But this architect was smarter than that. Instead, he sodded the grounds and made no paths for several months. When he went back, the students walking between the buildings had worn footpaths into the grass—curvy and organic paths that perfectly reflected the actual needs of people travelling between the buildings. Then the architect simply cobblestoned the already established paths.

The approach of this clever architect illustrates the Persona Architecture approach to designing websites.

Architect Your PA Website

We plan a sales conversation between your site and the Persona. This not only tells us what to address, but what level of conversion or commitment is appropriate for a given interaction. Not all sales conversations end in a sale, nor should they. Many end in establishing the need for another sales meeting to move the process forward. The same is true for website visits involving considered purchases and complex sales.

Start A Conversation With Us

After creating about 4 personas, with each of them having 3-4 conversations with your imaginary site, we end up with two things:

  • Instructions for the pages, and page content—messaging, graphics, videos—needed to persuasively address your potential customer’s most important topics and concerns
  • A blueprint for the linking structures between those topics and pages. Linking structures reflect the organic paths (or clickstreams) that Personas take when they travel through your site, as opposed to some rectilinear, top-down approach to website navigation.
See Some Examples

Persona-based website architecture sounds complicated because it is. However, it’s based on common sense. We do it because going through this complex process leads to dramatically superior performance and results—which is, after all, your ultimate goal.

Achieve Your Ultimate Goal
How Promote A Book Uses Persona Architecture

First, we take a user-centered design and temperament-based communication approach to every piece of persuasive content or message that we create. This allows us to transform your readers into customers by proving you are worth their time.

We also use the Persona Architecture process for designing our client’s websites, to include both custom business websites as well as authority, author, and book websites.

Finally, we will use your Personas to help create better content for your Audience Engagement Campaign or Marketing Bites.

Engage Your Audience Online
Moving Forward

To hire Promote A Book to help you with your website, or to engage us for any of the services listed above, or if you have questions about either, fill out our form below, or contact us directly.