You can see that these authors suggest that simplicity in design is important. Another
example of research into web site design factors supports the importance of design. Fogg
et al. (2003) asked students to review sites to assess the credibility of different suppliers
based on the web site design. They considered these factors most important:Design look 46.1%
Information design/structure 28.5%
Information focus 25.1%
Company motive 15.5%
Usefulness of information 14.8%
Accuracy of information 14.3%
Name recognition and reputation 14.1%
Advertising 13.8%
Bias of information 11.6%
Tone of the writing 9.0%
Identity of site sponsor 8.8%
Functionality of site 8.6%
Customer service 6.4%
Past experience with site 4.6%
Information clarity 3.7%
Performance on a test 3.6%
Readability 3.6%
Affiliations 3.4%However, it should be borne in mind that such generalisations can be misleading based
on the methodology used. Reported behaviour (e.g. through questionnaires or focus
groups) may be quite different from actual observed behaviour. Leading e-retail sites (for
example Amazon.com and eBay.com) and many media sites typically have a large amount
of information and navigation choices available on-screen since the site designers know
from testing alternative designs that consumers are quite capable of finding content rele-
vant to them and that a wider choice of links means that the user can find the
information they need without clicking through a hierarchy. When performing a real-life
product search, in-depth information on the products and reviews of the product are
important in making the product decision and are one of the benefits that online chan-
nels can give. Although design look is top of the list of factors presented by Fogg et al.
(2003), you can see that many of the other factors are based on the quality of information.
In the following coverage, we will review the general factors which designers consider
in designing the style, organisation and navigation schemes for the site.Site style
An effective web site design will have a style that is communicated through use of
colour, images, typography and layout. This should support the way a product is posi-
tioned or its brand.Site personality
The style elements can be combined to develop a personality for a site.
We could describe a site’s personality in the same way we can describe people, such as
‘formal’ or ‘fun’. This personality has to be consistent with the needs of the target audi-
ence (Figure 7.9). A business audience often requires detailed information and prefers an
information-intensive style such as that of the Cisco site (Figure 7.12) (www.cisco.com).DESIGNING THE USER EXPERIENCEINMA_C07.QXD 17/5/06 4:23 pm Page 325