The Goodwill website has been created to provide services to many different types of people. To accommodate this diverse range of individuals, the site has been divided into sections. In general, the types of people accessing goodwillgr.org are categorized depending on the needs they bring to the site. These needs are information about where to find a local Goodwill to donate to or buy from, how to get a job at Goodwill, how to hire a Goodwill graduate, and where to find general information about Goodwill. With these categories of users in mind, it is evident that the Goodwill website will caters to a diverse set of people.

Range of Users

The website at goodwillgr.org must be appealing to a broad range of people. It must be professional to appeal to prospective businesses who are considering hiring Goodwill graduates, and it must be friendly to allow job seekers and community members a comfortable environment to explore. A compromise is needed to assist these two basic user types. Also, because Goodwill supports individuals who have little job experience, the site should be easy to use with information that is readily available, easy to read, and simple to understand.

Appeal to the User Groups

To appeal to users, the site should be direct and use active words that engage the audience. Short sentences and lots of active verbs give the site a sense of movement and purpose. In the professional and non-professional environments that Goodwill serves, this will be an attractive feature. Other appealing and easy-to-use aspects include simple maps, friendly images, short page descriptions, and a consistently patterned layout.

An Action-Oriented Site

To direct users where they need to go to perform particular tasks, the homepage design will aid individuals in accessing the correct portion of the site. The words “know, shop, join, donate, and hire” are used to tell users where to go depending on the action they wish to perform. In addition, short explanations of these sections are provided for further clarification.

For example, if a user visits Goodwill’s website to find out the nearest location to drop off a donation, he or she will be able to follow a simple progression. The user is first greeted by the homepage where he or she is given the options know, shop, join, donate and hire. The user is planning to donate and clicks the “Donate Goodwill” button. From this menu, the user is given several new options from which he or she chooses “drop off locations.” The user then proceeds to browse the 12 area location maps to decide where to take his or her donations.

Conclusion