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Target audience

note

The goal of this document is only to outline the target audience of our "introduction to webdev" wiki. Other "learning pathways" on this site may be tailored to different personas.

Audience goals​

Ideological goals​

We want to help fannish people:

  • Move their content out of closed corporate platforms (including social media sites) that restrict which content they can create and control how and with whom they're allowed to share it
  • Join (or create) web projects made by and for other fannish people
  • Produce sites which reflect their individuality and collect their content (e.g. art, edits, fanfics, meta), even if some might find this content "distasteful" or "unmarketable"
  • Gain a solid understanding of modern web development technologies that allows them to explore further on their own, and take advantage of the resources available to web developers on the larger web

Overall, our goal is to empower fans with the skill, knowledge, and resources they need to create their own spaces of self expression on the web and open up a path for those who would like to join wider collaborative efforts or pursue a professional career.

Practical goals​

Artifacts fannish people may want to produce include:

  • A shrine to their OTP or their favorite series
  • A wiki or info page for a fandom event they're running
  • An "about me" site, similar to linktree/carrd websites
  • A gallery of content they've created (e.g. art, edits, fanfic, or meta)
  • A multipage website they can maintain and expand in their leisure time
  • A custom AO3/Dreamwidth/Tumblr skin
  • Custom elements that can be copy-and-pasted for websites that accept HTML (e.g. a "fake tweet" within their fanfiction)
  • Sharable elements and tools for use in fandom projects (e.g. web components, npm packages)

Non-goals (at this stage)​

  • Self-hosting
  • Backend development

Audience characteristics​

  • Roughly in the 25-40 years old age range; that is, millenials/Gen X'ers who may have been on the web in the late 90s/early 00s.
  • Can understand written English.
  • Have full lives outside of coding, and splintered slivers of free time.
  • May be neuroatypical; may have anxiety or trauma exacerbated by feeling unwelcomed or rejected by traditional learning institutions or group settings. May have attention regulation problems and easily become distracted or hyperfocused.
  • Have a "none to beginner" knowledge of web technologies. They may have dabbled in HTML/CSS in the olden days, but have out-of-date knowledge. They may have used carrd, wix, or other "website builder" technologies.
  • We assume no pre-existing knowledge of JavaScript, but some level of curiosity (mixed with anxiety).
  • Likely a Windows user. We assume access to at least a laptop.
  • Are curious about programming, but may have an underlying anxiety about "not being cut for it". They likely feel overwhelmed by the existing "learn to program" offerings.
  • May feel that they have no use for "advanced programming technologies" (e.g. git), and be fearful/skeptical of anything beyond editing simple text files.
  • Have felt progressively disempowered from customizing and controlling their experience on the software they use.
  • Likely to be "financially challenged", low-income, have fluctuating or inconsistent income, or be otherwise resistant to spending money on software. May go to great lengths to avoid paid software unless the value provided (for example in terms of time saved) is overwhelmingly clear. Likely to prefer one-time payments over recurring payments for software.
  • Some may be from non-US countries with lower buying power, and may therefore benefit from region-based pricing.
  • Are likely to feel more comfortable financially supporting smaller services than big corporations, especially providers that are well-known in the community and offer direct communication.

Audience needs​

General questions​

General questions that our audience may have include:

  • What is web development? Can I be a web developer if I only want to learn how to build simple websites?
  • Am I capable of learning web development? What will I need to effectively learn it?
  • Which languages will I need to learn?
  • Is learning web development fun? Is it going to be easy or hard?
  • How much time will it take to reach [X] goal?
  • Can I learn web development and create my own websites for free?
  • Will these guides be useful for me if I don't want to become a professional web developer? What about if I am considering a professional career?
  • How does modern webdev differ from the webdev of the 00s? Has it gotten harder or easier?
  • Is it normal to be overwhelmed by the endless stream of keywords/terminology? Is it normal to find many existing explanations overwhelming and confusing? Does this mean I'm not cut out for web development?
  • How long will it take for me to learn web development? Is the road meant to be so full of up and downs?
  • Where can I go if I have questions? Will that place be welcoming to me?
  • Why should I learn the technologies in this guide? Why should I use the software you recommend?
  • Why should I trust you?

Specific questions​

Specific questions that our audience may have include:

  • Where do I type code? What do I use to write code?
  • Where do I store my code? Why should I use git(hub)?
  • What are package managers (npm, yarn)? Why should I use them?
  • What is static site generation? What are its limits?
  • How do I add content to a website? How do I style the content?
  • How do I preview my website on my machine?
  • How do I deploy my code to the web? What is a webhost?
  • Do I need a domain name? What happens if I want to move my website to a different host?
  • How do I structure my content? How do I organize my files? How do I reference file paths in my code?
  • How can I ensure my content works on different browsers and at different screen sizes? How can I make sure my content is accessible to all users, or at least as many as possible?
  • How should I handle images?
  • How do I reuse layout elements across different pages?
  • How do I add interactivity to my website?
  • How can I install and use external packages?
  • What is a framework? What is a component (and props)? What is JSX? What is MDX?
  • What are some file formats I may encounter in my webdev adventures? Which ones are specific to certain technologies? Which ones are universal?

To summarize:​

Our goals, idealogically and practically, are to help fannish people take control of their online experience and develop the skills to create websites and web projects that cater to their needs and the needs of their communities and fandoms. Our audience for this wiki ("introduction to webdev") is primarily fannsih people with little to no experience with modern web development who want to learn, either for fannish projects or for personal or career reasons, but may have some anxieties that make them hesitant to engage with traditional webdev learning structures.

Basically, if you want to make a fannish web project but don't know how or where to start, this wiki is for you!