'How Do We Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility?'
This is a study conducted by the Standford University on 2002, where, and I quote:
When evaluating the credibility of a Web site, participants commented on the design look of the site more often than any other Web site feature, with 46.1 percent of the comments addressing the design look in some way. When coding for comments on design look, researchers included comments on many elements of the visual design, including layout, typography, white space, images, color schemes, and so on.
This is obviously just a part of the study; results vary depending on the persons, and after all it's just a collection of polls. Also, of course, there are other mitigant factors. To say a few: the Name Recognition and Reputation, the Site Functionality, the readability or the Design/structure of the Information, etcetera, etcetera.
But it's deserved at least a look. Check it out.
via 'How Do We Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility?', by consumerwebwatch.org
