Newsletter #81 Why Design Really Matters

Created on 24/09/03

A special hello to all new subscribers. This article is on the Web at this address.

The last newsletter (21st August, 2003) was "The Convergence Dream".

The Internet has an image and credibility problem according to the Consumer Internet Barometer. Its latest survey says that although more people are going online, the percentage of people who trust the Internet is only 27.1%. A larger percentage, 41.2% are satisfied with the medium.

So if the majority of users distrust the Internet, then surely credibility is a major issue for Website owners?

A study from Consumer Web Watch, an organization created by Consumers Union to advance the cause of credibility on the Web, is very useful here. 2,684 people participated in a study that asked them to rank and comment on the credibility of Web sites. People were randomly assigned two sites in any of 10 different categories, then asked to concentrate on whether they found the sites credible and then comment on why.

The results were very interesting to say the least. Overall, the two most important factors consumers indicated when trying to determine whether a site was "credible" were: "Design Look" 46.1 percent and "Information Design/Structure" 28.5 percent. "Name Recognition and Reputation" 14.1 percent and "Identity of Site Operator" 8.8 percent trailed these two factors by a long way.

So why would design and information architecture be so important in establishing online credibility, whereas name recognition is apparently so unimportant?

• As the authors state: "This basic human processing bias - "looking good is being good" - also seems to hold true for evaluating the credibility of Web sites, especially since Design Look is highly noticeable."
  
  
• Sean Carton of Carton Donofrio Partners, Inc. points out that many of the analog world cues consumers rely on just aren't available online. The Web "flattens" the experience. Therefore consumers are looking for something that says that "this company is credible". Design look and the way that information is structured are that "something" that people need.
  
  
• Although the study authors do point out: "Because people participated in this study to earn a donation for a nonprofit organization - not because of a deep personal interest or need - they did not likely have the motivation to process the Web sites deeply."
  
  
• In a parallel study of health and finance sites where experts were used, it was found that they were far less concerned about visual appeal as a marker of credibility than in the consumer study - they were more concerned about the quality of a site's information.

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So what conclusions can we draw from this?

• If your Website is targeted to the consumer market, then you should make sure that your Website looks competent, as consumers will judge you the instant they arrive on your site.
  
  
• If you have a site that seeks to attract experts in a particular field then concentrate on providing depth of information.



• Design really does matter. In our experience, because it is relatively easy to produce a Website, many people feel that they can. There is a big difference between producing and designing.
  
  
• Website structure and usability is also extremely important. See our past newsletters Usability Rules Online and Structuring Content For the Web for more in-depth information on these topics.

We feel that many companies have made the mistake of not taking the Internet seriously. The information above shows that on the Net it is even more important to look professional.

That means putting time, effort and money into doing so.

Alex Garden

Newbies

For previous tips visit the Newbie Hot Tips page.

Power Users

If you want a disclaimer or message (or play a trick on a colleague) to appear as a pop-up every time Windows starts, this is how. Note this requires a change to your registry so make sure you do a backup before proceeding.

Open your Registry Editor: In Windows 9x and ME use the left pane to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
In Windows 2000 and XP go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

If you don't see an icon called LegalNoticeCaption, right click anywhere in the pane and choose "New" "String Value". Type LegalNoticeCaption and press "enter". Also create a String Value icon named LegalNoticeText. Double click LegalNoticeCaption and in the "Value data" box type the text you want to show in the pop-up's title bar and press "enter". Double click LegalNoticeText to write the message you want to show and press "enter".

For previous tips visit the Power Hot Tips page.

The most comprehensive quote Website I've found is BrainyQuote with apparently "Over 38,000 quotes by 10,000 authors from Aristotle to Zappa!" So if you're looking for quotes there is a good chance you'll find what you're looking for there. http://www.brainyquote.com/

Is Kansas Flatter than a Pancake? This article is a great spoof that will have you chuckling at the way these guys from Texas State and Arizona State Universities go about answering this extremely important question! http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume9/v9i3/kansas.html

To search through all the articles in our online database use the search function on any page of our Website.

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." Alvin Toffler, author

You can see our other Quick Quotes on the front page of www.netinsites.com; just refresh the page to see another one randomly selected from our database. Great for presentations or times when you want to appear to be a techno-dude(ss)!

To access previous newsletters visit our newsletter archive.

If you want to subscribe to this newsletter just visit www.netinsites.com and use the box at the top right.

Best wishes

Alex Garden

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