Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [100]
The second step is to follow up this text by utilizing the resources cited in this chapter and others to develop an understating of human behavior in information interaction. As Postman recommends, if people do not understand the process, then they are at the mercy of it. The only way to liberate yourself from the effects of this scanning is to develop an understanding of it, its applications, and eventually its implications on society at large. Once you understand it, you can then use it more effectively to reach your audience and communicate clear concepts through the efficient use of fewer but more powerful words.
Wednesday: Consider Your Site’s Credibility
Today’s content is based on a study performed by Stanford University’s Persuasive Technology Lab, http://captology.stanford.edu/pdf/Stanford-MakovskyWebCredStudy2002-prelim.pdf. I turn to this study often, because it is supported by Nielsen’s findings and my own observations.
Performed in December 2002, the study asked participants to rate website credibility. The respondents rated credibility factors such as navigation, language, professionalism, and content as the elements that they consider to be high on the list of creating credibility and trust for a website. However, the respondents were very quick to judge a website by the visual design. According to the researchers, the subjects “made credibility-based decisions based on the website’s overall visual appeal.” Regardless of the policies and security factors that may have been noted prior, the respondents overwhelmingly made assessments based on visual factors. However, those visual factors and visual appeal may not be what you’d expect.
The visual factors specifically noted were typography, font size, color scheme, and layout. This is not about pretty pictures and fancy Flash movies. This is more about readability. At a basic level, typography, font size, color scheme, and layout are simply factors in developing content to be easily organized and read. This is about layout factors and using text effects to communicate important information.
Coincidentally, when looking at the top visited sites on the Internet, not many of them display an amazing graphical interface. The main “design” could be summarized as a pleasing combination of typography, font size, color scheme, and layout. Consider Google, Amazon, eBay, The New York Times, Yahoo!, YouTube, Facebook, Craigslist, LinkedIn, Bing, BBC, AOL, and Apple. Very few of these utilize a bleeding-edge technology for navigation, and none utilizes a graphic-intensive display. Instead, they all focus on the layout and presentation of information, supported by the typography, font size, and color scheme. This creates credibility and, reduced to its simplest element, the readability and consistency of the information structure and architecture of a website. A logical navigation is supported by a content hierarchy (using text size and color scheme) of clearly defined categories, labels, and information. These elements create credibility in a user’s mind, because there is nothing hidden, confusing, or at cross-purposes with the quest for information.
To achieve good readability on your web pages, it’s important to consider the following topics.
Text Size
Tiny text is the primary complaint I observe in usability testing. Test subjects continually mark this as one of their most hated obstacles to using websites. Tiny text creates work for the visitor, because reading becomes much more difficult, slower, and labored. From my background in design, I have seen a lot of young designers in their early 20s with large monitors and high-screen resolutions. Despite what they may say, you are in charge of your website, and if you think the text is too small, it is.
Funnily enough, if you have grown up watching television in the United States, you have been conditioned to distrust the fine print. Small text