| Good Website Design
– what it involves |
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| 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. |
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IWith this transformation
from marvel to mainstream, Internet users
now have strong, strict expectations when
they go online and visit a Website. They
are demanding Websites that are well designed,
easy to navigate, looks professional, and
offer credible information – just
as much as they want Websites 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 Websites
to be updated frequently. But the online
reality today is that few Internet users
say they can trust the Websites that have
products for sale or the Websites that offer
advice about which products and services
to buy. What makes the difference between
a credible Website and one that is not?
This report explores this very important
question. |
|
| Only 29 percent of users say they trust
Websites that sell products or services. And
just 33 percent say they trust Websites giving
advice about such purchases. This report (provided
to us by Consumer WebWatch) shows that a good
Website Design can certainly change this perception. |
|
| Online users’ low ratings
of bad Website design transform to lack of
credibility and lack of credibility stands
in the way of people going online and to trust
websites to do shopping or get information. |
|
| From the old hands to the newbies online,
users want the Websites 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 Website – 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
Website 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 Website 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 Websites
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 Website. 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%). |
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| Whether you need a
cool Cold Fusion dynamic web site, an ASP
auction portal, a PHP shopping cart or a Lotus
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needs optimization we have the necessary skills.
Call us ! |
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