Another great Poynteronline posting:

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E-Media Tidbits

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Posted by Laura Ruel 12:05:52 PM

Seconds to Create Credibility

At the Nielsen Norman Group Usability Week’s Friday session, Fundamental Guidelines for Web Usability, Hoa Loranger addressed the importance of site credibility.

“It is an important factor [that determines] whether a person will visit a site and will stay on your site,” said Loranger. “You have seconds on the home page to make a good first impression.”

Loranger cited the work of BJ Fogg at Stanford University to describe how to create feelings of credibility on your site:

• Good visual design
• Third-party endorsements of your work
• Providing a physical/street address for your organization.
• Updated content — not just content, but recent awards, etc.
• Promotional content and ads that are relevant to the site’s content
• No typos or bugs
• Easy to use

Loranger provided examples credible vs. not credible sites. Sean’s Painting was noted as less credible than Chism Brothers Painting. Similarly, Loan Finders was described as creating a less credible feeling than Lending Tree. She also noted the overwhelming form that appears on the second click on the Loan Finders site as also having a negative impact on credibility.

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