Why Web Site Design is so important:
Ask an average Internet user what makes a site seem credible and trustworthy and you'll get thoughtful answers like these: a good privacy policy, accurate information, awards, and business affiliations. That's what visitors say they want, but researchers recently found an astonishing contradiction. While they had hoped to see people use more rigorous strategies for evaluating a Web site's credibility, the researchers found that a site's design was actually more important than any other feature!

Visitor Preferences Studied:
Two surprising studies were published recently that showed an unexpected gap between how people say they judge Web sites and the criteria they actually use:

• From Stanford University and Consumer Web Watch: "How Do People Evaluate A Web Site's Credibility? Results from a Large Study."
• From Sliced Bread Design, LLC and Consumer Web Watch: "Experts vs. Online Consumers: A Comparative Credibility Study of Health and Finance Web Sites."

The studies asked Internet users to evaluate the credibility and quality of information they get from various Web sites. Even though visitors told researchers they looked at many different aspects of a Web site when deciding whether to trust its information, researchers were surprised to discover that visitors were more swayed by a site's design than anything else. Visitors were asked what characteristics would make them trust the information on a Web site. Few people (if any) told researchers that they would trust a site more if it "looked good." However, that's exactly what researchers discovered after asking participants to evaluate a number of different Web sites!

What Visitors Really Look At:
Visitors first evaluate a site's overall design, including its use of multimedia. Beau Brendler, director of Consumer Web Watch noted: "While consumers say they judge on substance, these studies demonstrate that consumers judge on aesthetics, and get distracted by bells and whistles." So, after spending all this time developing great, valuable content that visitors can't find anywhere else on the Web, does this mean nothing matters but a cool color scheme and fancy flash animation? Fortunately, it doesn't. The Stanford study noted specifically that while a site's design is the first indicator of quality, it isn't the only one: ".the visual design may be the first test of a site's credibility. If it fails on this criterion, Web users are likely to abandon the site and seek other sources of information and services."

Implications For Your Web Site:
The similarity of the results for both studies indicates that a site's design really matters! Your web site design should present a polished, professional look. You certainly don't want your visitors to parrot this comment from one of the survey participants: "The design is sloppy and looks like some adolescent boys in a garage threw this together." So take a close look at some of the particular design aspects that study participants noted:

• Good color choices. Coordinate your colors to draw attention to important elements. Be careful with background images. Choose a color scheme that reflects your audience's preferences - not your own.
• Typography. Use fonts that are easy to read.
• Layout. Create a clear navigation structure and place page elements so they are easy to read. Use color, bullet lists, section headers, and pull quotes to highlight important points.
• Images and Multimedia. Be careful with images and multimedia. They should compliment your site and reinforce your message - not annoy visitors.