A Presumed website is that of http://kidshealth.org/ this site is credible because it represents a non-profit organization. It is presumed it is reputable because it is a health organization site and there isn’t any pop up ads or advertisement. 

This http://www.webaward.org/winners_detail.asp?yr=all&award_level=best&category=Magazine is an example of a Reputed website as it has credentials such as awards which back up the information. 

This Surface website is shown to be produced by a professional designer and we see it as an extremely professional website which we would trust. 

This apple website represents a Earned credibility site. As it is known to be correct and serve the public valid information and prices.

- The amount of pop up adds on some websites. Pop up adds are quite a distraction and are very irritating when web searching.

- The number of adverts which are on the website, adverts make a webpage look less credibly because it isn’t seen as professional. 

- Whether or not the sire looks visually appealing and neat. The visual design is one of the most important factors with website credibility because that is what is seen first and is what surrounds the information.

As university students we should further our study by spending time on reading and researching into the topic of study. However, often students can fall into the wikipedia trap as usually the first google search result is wikipedia.

In today’s society the wide web is frequently used and available to buy items, bank money and  pay people. This is because of the  fast and easy access to the internet today. If everyday errands can be done on from home why wouldn’t you even with home shopping available today.  Trusting a website with such information is important to ensure that there not fraud, thus reinforcing the importance of web credibility. 

As people don’t have the time for false information or slow, incorrect website web credibility has become more and more crucial. If all information online was wrong it would reflect poorly in all circumstances. Particularly for students, teachers and many professionals whom are seeking information to help them with there studies. As a student myself i find it easier to search for information online by simply “googling it”.

Often we find ourselves trusting the professional, however in todays society we have to be careful whether or not information or things are credibly. When trust is used we often believe the truth/the most factual thing over the other and as a result “has increased power of persuasion.” (Fogg, 2003)

Most students use online sources over books and magazines because there readily available and how easy they are to access. Students often choose conivence over the quality of work and as a result of this “student work standard has dropped, from poor internet resources.” (Smyth, 1998)

“Internet as a source of information is growing, while trust in the reliability of the information found through search engines is falling.” (Charnock, 2008)

Web Credibility

Features which increase our credibility are professional and clean design, a well know and widely used site,  high qualilty information, Link to external websites that reference your organization and testimonials and case studies. Features which decrease credibility include an unprofessional and cluttered website, lots of adverts and pop up windows and lack of references and knowledge. 

References

Charnock, S (2008) Digital Future websites. Intute Best of Web. Retrieved May 25, 2009, fromhttp://www.intute.ac.uk/blog/category/credibility/

Helping you become a User and Internet Designer. [n.d.] Web Credible. Retrieved May 25, 2009, http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-credibility/basics.shtml

Fogg, B.J (2003) Credibility and the World Wide Web. In Persuasive Technology: Using computers to change What We Think and Do (pp 122-125). Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufamann

This salt grinder satisfies the basic design principle of performance load as it is easy and simple to use. You can look at it and know straight away what to do with it. There is no questioning how to use it and there is no confusion about what it does, its design does not distract from its main purpose.

This toaster satisfies the design principles of performance load as it does not take a lot of metal power to figure out how to use it.Th pictures and written directions are easy to read and use. The toaster improves efficiency as it doesn’t obtain much time or mental capacity.

It is important and imperative to ensure that the designers have an understanding of the meanings behind colours, shapes, symbols and fonts as everyone has different reactions and constructions of them. When considering all meanings like these the designer can create a particular message  mood or symbol. 

By using the wrong image, symbol, font or colour you could easily imply the wrong message, and as a result could cause confusion. 

It is imperative for all designers/constructors to understand all underpinning meanings behind colours as they each symbolize differently. 

For example, these following colours symbolise…

Red – love, passion, harmony, death, sex

Black – death, new beginnings, elegance, mystery

Blue – conservative, peace, tranquility, expansion

The Chunking technique is a technique used to retain more information, by making chunks of information smaller it is made easier for out brain to store and remember it.  Our brain is only capable to retain a certain amount of information for example when remembering something often creating reminders like mnemonic devices. 

The average person processes and remembers information based on the complexity of it, hence when faced with information which is harder using the chunking process can help learn it. 

All around us the chunking process is used to simplify day to day activities to make things easier to come by. For example, supermarkets separate similar items into  sections instead of mixing cereals with cold food as so forth, for the convience of ourselves.  Another example of chunking can be seen in cars, the dashboards in vehicles are designed so everything is closer to the driver and easier to use when driving.

Chunking is a technique used to simplify the day to day activities.