ABSTRACT
There are two dimensions to the visitor experience; think of them as inside and outside.
Inside. First, the experience happens in your visitors’ perceptions. It’s seen from their point of view, created by a combination of their feelings, sensations, and prior experiences. Unfortunately, what you intend doesn’t always matter. All that counts is what’s happening inside a visitor on the day she’s at your site. You can’t control this inside dimension. No two visitors will ever have the same experience, since everyone has a unique point of view. 1
Outside. Second, an experience is made up of many separate pieces outside the visitor. That’s your part. The outside dimension begins the instant a person decides to visit, continues throughout her time with you, and ends when she leaves. You control nearly every aspect of this outside dimension. I’ve divided a visit into eight sequential steps, allowing you to examine each of them in detail in a logical order while you imagine your visitor experiencing them.
