Agarwal, A: Impact of Front-End Usability Guidelines on Eval

This research examined the impact of usability guidelines and front-end web site on consumer aesthetic evaluations of e-commerce web sites and perceptions of the e-retailer. A detailed web site guidelines framework was developed from an in-depth review of the usability, human factors, and human-computer interaction web guidelines literature. Four web site factors (background color, white space, thumbnail image location, and thumbnail image size) were selected and varied using this framework. In addition, as a secondary research focus, this study explored the impact of these front-end web site factors on consumer trust, product preference, and purchase intention. A conceptual model was proposed which integrated usability and web site with consumer web site evaluation, trust, purchase intention, satisfaction, and loyalty. Conjoint analysis and optimal methodologies were then used to web page prototypes. Results indicated that subtle front-end web site elements impacted consumer aesthetic evaluations of the web page and subsequent e-retailer evaluations. Results also provided support for the conceptual model developed.