Web Design Rationale - Essay Example

? Web Design Rationale Web Design Rationale A Mintel article mentions that “clean laundry is closely linked to a sense of domestic success, and is closely associated to home making” (2009). It is this statement which helps provide support for the importance and the impact of the laundry industry in any domestic and commercial setting. This report shall provide a rationale for changes to be introduced to the www.thelaundryhouse.co.uk website. It will also provide evidence for the market opportunity and a rationale for product/service and the target audience. The website shall basically be an online feature for a laundry business. The laundry business has long been a major source of income for many individuals (Yung, et.al., 2006). The industrial revolution has brought forth the use of washing machines, which has then led to businesses within the laundry services line (Yung, et.al., 2006). To date, this business has grown and expanded. In the current age of computers and the Internet, most businesses have now included online features for their clientele (Yung, et.al., 2006). Significant improvements in these online features have been added throughout the years, including the various options available for customers. This website features a description of the kind of basic services offered by the business, including the types of items which they can clean as well as the prices corresponding to each type of laundry. The website includes a phone number and the address of the laundry service. Other services including the repair of clothes would also be seen on the site. Additional features which would be included in the website are the following: 1. What they offer. Additional features to be added would include wedding laundry, domestic laundry, restaurant laundry, and hotel laundry. These are distinct and specific types of laundry which often require different types of handling. Wedding laundry would likely include clothes for the bride/groom and the entourage. Items of this nature are delicate and require an enormous amount of care – more than what is usually needed for other types of laundry. The other kinds of laundry mentioned above would have qualities specific to their industry. Hotel laundry would likely include mostly linens; restaurant laundry would likely include items which may be stained with food items or grease and would require stain removal processes. Adding specificity to the website would immediately inform the clients about the possible options they have; it would also entice specific businesses involved, including hotels and restaurants and other institutions who encounter specific problems with their laundry (Burge and Brown, 1998). In effect, this added feature would identify clients, often making them feel entitled to specialised and personalised services. Posting these details on the website would also indicate who their target audience is. 2. Contact us. (Twitter, Facebook, email, phone). This feature taps into the social media and the connectivity of telecommunications. The fastest and most popular tool on the Internet these days is the social media, and this tool has become one of the most convenient means by which free and widespread advertising can be utilised (Stephanidis, 2011). Where these contact measures are made possible, greater accessibility is guaranteed. Adding the email and phone features helps cover all the possible options for communicating with the business, thereby ensuring that the clients would have the power to choose which contact means they would use (Stephanidis, 2011). 3. About us. This feature would describe the laundry house, specify its features and options, and why it is the best choice to fit the needs of any customer seeking laundry services (Lee, 2004). It would also describe the exemplary quality of the laundry services, as well as the favourable reputation of the business (Lee, 2004). This feature would basically introduce the customer to the website and the laundry service. It would likely also include who the proprietors are, the location of the business, and how long the laundry service has been operational. 4. Terms and conditions. This feature would specifically discuss the radius of collection and delivery for the laundry and the minimum charge. The radius of delivery would be 3 miles from the Manchester City Centre. This is already an extensive area covering various residential and commercial establishments, thereby allowing the customers to experience the full convenience of the laundry service. A diagram or map indicating the area covered by the business would also be included in the website in order to help the customer determine whether or not they are within the radius of the delivery and collection for the laundry service (Pinna, 2010). Minimum charges will also be included in order to help the client estimate cost of services. Adding such feature would help reduce the need for clarification on the part of the client, reducing cumbersome calls to the office for price inquiries (Pinna, 2010). This feature would also ensure self-monitoring processes available for consumers. 5. Prices. This feature would help the client estimate the actual cost of his/her laundry. It would prevent any surprises on the part of the customer and would also immediately provide the customer with the means to compare prices with other laundry services (Pinna, 2010). Posting the prices on the website would also prevent hidden and undisclosed prices and charges which may be unfavourable to the consumers. 6. Home page with a welcome note and service area checker. This feature would make the client feel welcome and enticed. The home page with its welcome note would basically introduce the customer to the website and the laundry service (Jacko, 2009). The home page and welcome note would be designed in a manner which would attract the customer, enticing them to open the other features of the website. The service area checker would then provide a glimpse into the different services offered by the laundry service. This feature would present the customers with an overview of the website, easily displaying all the basic features they would require from a laundry service website (Jacko, 2009). 7. LOGO. The logo features a hanger and a house on the side. This logo would serve as the distinct mark and symbol for the website and the laundry business. Its uniqueness provides a tool by which the website and the business would be easily recognized (White, 2011). The logo would also be the intellectual property of the business owner, and any attempts to use such logo would be considered an infringement of intellectual rights (White, 2011). As the website and the laundry service would soon be gaining popularity, the logo would also identify the business. 8. Testimonials. This feature would help draw in clients. They serve as reviews of the quality of the laundry services (Pinna, 2010). It would help the customers decide on whether or not to use the service. It would also ensure the clients that the laundry services are real and that they have been tested by other customers who have been satisfied with the services (Pinna, 2010). 9. Book online pickups and tracking system. This feature would help serve the convenience of the customers. Various customers often do not have the time to drop off and collect their laundry. Having online options for collection and pick-ups would help serve the needs of the busy customers (Pinna, 2010). Providing such feature for the website would also provide a competitive edge for the laundry service, especially where other websites do not have this option. Including a tracking system helps the customer track his laundry, from pick-up to delivery (Pinna, 2010). It would help reassure them of the progress in their laundry services, and the estimated time when their laundry would be delivered. Having these options is a means of reassuring the customers about the services they are receiving. In other words, it is a customer or client-friendly service which is a very enticing feature for prospective customers (Pinna, 2010). In so many ways it gives the control back to the customers. 10. Loyalty points. Indicating loyalty points for customers would also be another means of enticing and drawing in customers. Loyalty points would also help ensure the continued patronage of the customer, as it encourages them to keep earning points and enjoy the benefits of the loyalty rewards (Stephanidis, 2011). The possibility of earning such rewards and points would ensure that the laundry service would also have loyal customers. In the end, loyalty can make or break any business, including the laundry business (Stephanidis, 2011). 11. Photos of the laundry house services. Posting photos of the laundry house services helps provide a glimpse of the favourable features of the laundry house. These photos would include photos of the reception area, the laundry rooms with their machines, some of the processes which would go into the laundry service, the laundry staff wearing their appropriate gear, and if possible, some famous clientele. Once again, these elements would help draw in customers. It would also add legitimacy to the business, assuring the clients of the efficient working process applied in the business as well as the quality of the services provided (White, 2011). The pictures would also offer some form of transparency to the customers, a way for them to look into the equipment and services offered by the laundry service (White, 2011). An added feature for the laundry service would also include its emphasis on the use of environmentally-friendly products. This would be included as a statement in the website, describing the environmentally-friendly features of their laundry detergents and the water conservation commitments which the laundry service is making for the environment. This feature has been emphasized by Mintel as an engaging trend in the market because the environmental impact of any industry has now become a concern for many consumers (2011). In the improvements featured above, the website would provide a major edge among its competitors. In reviewing a competitor website, the differences are very much apparent. In the website http://www.laundryon-line.co.uk/, the differences are seen in the availability of social media contact options, or email contact options are not seen. Moreover, customer testimonials are also not apparent in the website and no loyalty points are given to the customers. The logo is not very prominent and there are no photos of the laundry shop and processes involved. More importantly, there are no specific laundry services available for particular customers. The above details provide the additions and changes which we would include in the laundry website. These are details which generally seek to enhance the serviceability of the website and the laundry service. It also ensures customer friendly features, not just on cleaning laundry, but also on collection and delivery of their clothes. References Burge, J. and Brown, D., 1998. Design rationale: types and tools, technical report. Worchester Polytechnic Institute Computer Science Dept. [online] Available at: [Accessed 23 October 2012]. Jacko, J., 2009. Human-Computer Interaction. New Trends: 13th International Conference, HCI International. San Diego, CA, USA 19-24 July 2009. California: Springer. Lee, Y., 2004. Concept mapping your web searches: a design rationale and web-enabled application. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 20(2), 103–113. Laundry Online Dry Cleaners. Available at: http://www.laundryon-line.co.uk/index.html [Accessed 10 November 2012]. Mintel, 2009. Clothes washing products [online]. Available at: http://oxygen.mintel.com/display/393866/ [Accessed 10 November 2012]. Mintel, 2011. Laundry detergents and fabric conditioners [online]. Available at: http://oxygen.mintel.com/display/545488/ [Accessed 10 November 2012]. Pinna, A., 2010. Web design rationale for online self-monitoring and self-enhancing in EFL at the University of Sassari, Italy. Educational Media International, 37(2). Stephanidis, C., 2011. Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Design for All and eInclusion: 6th International Conference, UAHCI 2011, Held as Part of HCI International 2011, Orlando, FL, USA 9-14July 2011, Proceedings. New York: Springer. White, B., 2011. Social media tools and platforms in learning environments. London: Routledge Yung, J., Chang, G., and Lai, H., 2006. Declaration of the Chinese hand laundry alliance. Chinese American Voices. California: University of California Press. Read More