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How Do People Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility?
theduck writes "Ever suspected (or feared) that web users are mostly mindless sheep evaluating your website more by the eye candy than your carefully crafted content? Well, it appears you were right. A study resulting from a collaboration between Consumer Webwatch and The Stanford Pervasive technology Lab reports that even though consumers say that they look for content first when evaluating the credibility of a website, they actually focus primarily on design look and information design/structure (i.e. ease of navigation). Of course, the study's methodology might have something to do with the results..."
What good is the best content in the world if it's difficult to navigate your way through it?
In real life communication people are able to get much non-verbal information from the speaker, giving hints as to whether they are passionate about their topic of conversation, or even whether they really believe it or not.
While ultimately the content itself is paramount, having a well-designed site will show visitors that you at least care enough about it to put some effort it.
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
...and what they're looking for. Obviously a site that is impossible to navigate is't going to be very popular, but the savvy user who knows what he/she is looking for will certaintly be more focused on content than presentation.
Of course, the 'internet surfer', who is typically not looking for anything specific, is more likely to be captivated by 'shiney things'. Given the nature of the study's methods, I'm thinking that was the case.
Since there was no guarantee that the person in question had any interest whatsoever in what they were showed, how could they honestly judge the page based on *content*?
=Smidge=
I don't have a problem with sites using flash liberally, so long as they provide a non-flash way to get to the same information on the web site. This is especially important for an index page...you ought to allow people into the site without them having to wait for your animation to download.
"Weapons should be hardy rather than decorative" - Miyamoto Musashi
I think that goes for OS's too
Its all about what's appropriate.
I know some people who hate all web applets on principle. I know a lot of people who hate all flash on principle. But what the whole thing really boils down to is this:
Does it add anything to the site, without taking anything away?
Flash with no way to avoid it detracts from the site because people with slow connections are inconvienved. Fancy applets everywhere detract from the site because not all browsers can handle them.
But applets that add optional extra usability, or flash navigational elements with a HTML alternative are fine by me.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Of course they judged the books first by their cover. We do it with books, with the people we meet, with stores at the mall and around town!
We need to do that. It helps us decide whether we want to pursure things further or move on to the next thing. Otherwise we would have to fully investigate everything.
Does it work 100%? No, but it works well enough that nobody is going to stop doing it.
-- Many men would appreciate a woman's mind more if they could fondle it