The Effects of Information and Visual Website Design on User Frustration

Abstract

When shopping online, customers may be less likely to buy a product if they feel frustrated with the website’s interface. However, few studies have investigated what attributes contribute to frustration with websites’ design. The goal of this study was to determine whether deficiencies in the information and visual design of a website can cause frustration. In a within-subjects design, participants were asked to do several tasks on four different versions of a website and afterwards were asked to complete a survey for each version. The results showed that color and information deficiency did cause frustration in users. These results will likely help website designers (or even marketing researchers) in designing more effective websites, as well as ways that can help the consumer have a more enjoyable online experience.