For more information contact Professor Dan Remenyi at dan.remenyi@mcil.co.uk

First Impressions count, it’s an old cliché but still a very relevant one. A website is an organisation’s ambassador on the Web and the first impression of the site will be the first impression of the organisation conducting business on the Web. 

Therefore a key element of having an effective website is to convey a professional image showing that the site is serious in its goal of supporting the user conducting business with the organisation over the Internet. An effective website should strive to give an impression of usefulness, clarity, ease-of-use, efficiency and openness.

Usefulness
It is extremely important that the user immediately realises that the site is of potential use to them. The unique selling point of the site should be stated on the homepage. Users should be informed of useful facilities and resources on the site.

The user should feel that there is an ability to take action. The site should be interactive and encourage user participation from the outset. There should be direct links to key action points immediately visible on the homepage.T

he site should strive to create a feeling of wanting more in the user.

Clarity and Ease of Use
The website should give an impression of clarity and should be easy to use. It should be easily readable, clear and easy to understand. It is important that the site is not too cluttered with text and images. Images used should be simple and convey immediate meaning. The colour of text and images should contrast nicely. It is important that there is a consistent look and feel throughout the site.

It is essential that the homepage is clear and simple. The homepage should be above the fold, users entering the site will appreciate seeing everything in front them without having to make the effort of scrolling up and down.

Efficiency

Download Time - The most important factor in conveying an efficient impression is download time. A user will only wait so long for a page to download. Attracting users to the site is difficult enough so why provide a reason to depart before entering. Download time should be minimised.

Download time is, of course, dependent on the user’s system capabilities so it is important to know the demographics of the Internet users you are targeting. Website statistics can be helpful here.

All pages should be kept under 50k in size. Significant effort should be made to ensure the homepage is especially small and quick to download.

In general there is a trade-off between graphics and performance. Therefore any graphics used should be used sparingly. Graphics used should add to the functionality of the website.

Graphics should be optimised. It is possible to reduce images to the smallest possible size while maintaining an acceptable image quality.  

Openness

Plug-Ins - It is important that the user gets an impression of openness from the site especially from the homepage. Users can get annoyed when asked to download an application or a plug-in before entering the site. Some users may not understand the concept and therefore be reluctant to do so while others may just not want to waste their time. The objective should be to let users into the site with as little effort as possible. The benefit of the stylish graphics enabled by the download may not outweigh the extra effort required to enable them.

Restricted Access - Forcing users to give information or details before entering a site can be very discouraging. The website should strive to let users in, not to lock them out. Forcing users to subscribe or register on the home page before continuing will not be appreciated and may turn users away. Users will only identify themselves when they are ready and it is especially important that users are informed of what privileges they will receive after identifying themselves.

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