All men's gains are the fruit of venturing.
Web Credibility
What's the most important ingredient of a successful website?
"Information – it's what we say that matters, not what it looks like"?
"Technology – our IT people can handle it"?
"Design – we must ensure the consistency of our corporate identity"?
Whilst each of these approaches has its own merits, in truth they are all wrong.
The single, most important ingredient of a successful website is its credibility.
So, what makes a website credible?
In a major study conducted by Stanford University, California, 2,600 people were randomly assigned 2 sites from 10 different categories and asked to explain if and why they felt the sites were credible. The results were interesting.
"Design Look" – 46.1%
"Information Design / Structure" – 28.5%
"Name Recognition and Reputation" – 14.1%
"Identity of Site Operator" – 8.8%
What would you define as credibility?
Honesty? Integrity? Trustworthiness? Reliability?
In the real world, potential customers measure your company's credibility by tangible elements – the quality of your marketing literature; your shop's cleanliness and location; the attitude of your sales force.
On the Internet the 'credibility elements' are intangible, which is probably why "Design Look" and "Information Design / Structure" score so highly in the credibility stakes.
It all adds up to one thing: a visually unappealing, carelessly structured and / or poorly maintained site will damage your company's integrity and, ultimately, your business.