it is important to have a clear picture of your target audience. only if you haved a very specific picture in mind of the intended visitors of your website is it possible to address them in the right manner.

of course, you can never be sure that your website will not be visited by non-intended visitors. thus it is equally important to provide information interesting enough for them. but mind your primary target group.

e.g., one of the customers of function2form is a non-profit organization aiding long-term unemployed people with difficult psychological situations. the website therefore is primarily intended to give them, or relatives or friends, information about the services provided. the information for them must be comprehensible for psychological laymen. on the other hand, this website will also serve as a place where job-seeking professionals from psychology or social work will look. so it should also provide information in a way that makes the goals and methods of the organization clear to advanced professionals. yet another likely group of visitors will be sponsors - persons or organizations willing to invest money into the organization. fourth, and not least: the organization runs kitchens where the clientele is brought into work again. the meals they produce are distributed via cafés and at schools and kindergartens. so possible clients of the organization should be able to learn about the offers as well.

this is quite a complex cluster of likely visitors of a website. but the example should show how clear you should be about the visitors you expect to come to your website before setting it up.