A Good Web Site Design Brings Trust and Success

source Stanford website credibility

A Good Web Site Design helps you sell

Internet is now an integral part of the everyday lives of a majority of Americans, whether at home, at work or in both locales. In less than a decade, it has been transformed from a technological curiosity to the place millions of Americans shop every day, to a place they go for news, information and communication and to a place for both entertainment and serious business.

With this transformation from marvel to mainstream, Internet users now have strong, strict expectations when they go online and visit a Web Site. They are demanding Web Sites that are well designed, easy to navigate, looks professional, and offer credible information – just as much as they want Web Sites that are rich in state-of-the-art design.

Users want to be able to identify the sources of online information – just as much as they want Web Sites to be updated frequently. But the online reality today is that few Internet users say they can trust the Web Sites that have products for sale or the Web Sites that offer advice about which products and services to buy. What makes the difference between a credible Web Site and one that is not? This report explore this very important question.

Only 29 percent of users say they trust Web Sites that sell products or services. And just 33 percent say they trust Web Sites giving advice about such purchases. This report (provided to us by Consumer WebWatch) shows that a good Web Site Design can certainly change this perception.

Online users’ low ratings of bad Web Site design transform to lack of credibility and lack of credibility stands in the way of people going online and to trust Web Sites to do shopping or get information.

From the old hands to the newbies online, users want the Web Sites they visit to provide clear information to allow them to judge the site’s credibility. Users want to know who runs the site; how to reach those people; the site’s privacy policy; and how the site deals with mistakes, whether editorial or transactional. For example, 80 percent say it is very important to be able to trust the information on a Web Site – the same percentage who say it is very important that a site be easy to navigate.

In the eyes of consumers, all sites are not equal. Consumers have different credibility standards for different types of sites. For sites where consumers can spend money – whether to buy something like a book or to make a travel reservation – consumer expectations and demands are just about as high as they can be.

Internet users were asked about six specific Web Site policies and information for e-commerce sites. For each of the six policies examined, more than three-quarters of users say that it is very important that e-commerce sites have a professional Web Site design, provide specific, accurate information about the site’s policies and practices.

For example, a total of 95 percent of users say it is very important that sites disclose all fees, while 93 percent attach the same emphasis to statements of the site’s policy on using personal information. For news and information sites, users are also demanding. They want sites to have and to display a privacy policy. Users want advertising clearly labeled as advertising. They want a prominent page where corrections of past mistakes are available. And users want the site to provide a list of the editors responsible for the site’s content, including the editors’ email addresses. For example, 65 percent say it is very important that a site display its privacy policy and 59 percent say that it is very important that advertising be clearly labeled and distinguished from news and information.

Despite concerns about the credibility of sites and an overall lack of trust, users continue to exercise their power of choice on the Internet to figure which sites to use and which to avoid. Three-quarters (75%) have gone to Web Sites selling products in the past few months, while just about as many have gone to news sites (73%). When their concerns are satisfied, consumers are willing to extend trust to selected sites: nearly three out of four users (73%) have provided personal information such as their name or email address to at least one Web Site. About two in three (65%) have used their credit cards online. Those who have been online more than three years are much more likely to have used their card online (79%), compared to those online six months or less (36%).

Continue with:

Web Site Design and Credibility

Stanford Guidelines for Web Site Credibility

How Do People Evaluate a Web Site Credibility?

What we find notable about Design Look

How Do People Evaluate a Web Site Credibility;

• INFORMATION FOCUS
  
• Company Motive
  
• Information Usefulness
  
• Advertising
  
• Identity of Web Site Operator
  
• Past Experience with Web Site
  
• Readability
  
• Why is Design Look so prominent?
  
• ENTERTAINMENT Web Sites: CREDIBILITY RESULTS
  
• HEALTH Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS
  
• NONPROFIT Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS
  
• TRAVEL Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS