The majority of Web site design literature mainly concentrates on the technical and functional aspects of Web site design. There is a definite lack of literature, in the IS field, that concentrates on the visual and aesthetic aspects of Web design. Preliminary research into the relationship between visual design and successful electronic commerce Web sites was conducted. The emphasis of this research was to answer the following three questions. What role do visual design elements play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? What role do visual design principles play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? What role do the typographic variables of visual design play in the success of electronic commerce Web sites? Forty-three undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory level MIS course used a Likert-style survey instrument to evaluate aesthetic aspects of 501 electronic commerce Web pages. The instrument employed a taxonomy of visual design that focused on three dimensions: design elements, design principles, and typography. The data collected were correlated against Internet usage success metrics data provided by Nielsen/NetRatings. Results indicate that 22 of the 135 tested relationships were statistically significant. Positive relationships existed between four different aesthetic dimensions and one single success measure. The other 18 significant relationships were negatively correlated. The visual design elements of space, color as hue, and value were negatively correlated with three of the success measures. The visual design principles of contrast, emphasis radiated through contrast, and contrast shape were negatively correlated with three of the success measures. Finally, the typographic variables of placement and type size were both negatively correlated with two of the success measures. This research provides support to the importance of visual design theory in Web site design. This preliminary research should be viewed as a realization of the need for Web sites to be designed with both visual design theory and usability in mind.

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Many companies involved in the seed industry have launched ecommerce ventures, these include amongst others, Starke Ayres, Johnny's Selected and Opposition 1. Amazon.com is the undisputed leader in ecommerce retailing. There are various website design features that are available that can be used to enhance the users online experience; however the implementation of these features are inconsistent across ecommerce websites. The websites of Starke Ayres, Johnny's Selected, Opposition 1 and Amazon.com were evaluated against a list of website design features (best practices model) that would enhance the user's online experience when interacting with the website. The best practices model was setup considering the user enhancing website features that would satisfy the website functional requirements of Content, Communication, Commerce and Community, as well as user enhancement through the use of navigation features. The cluster analysis was conducted to establish the relatedness of the four websites for the implementation of the website design features identified in the best practices model. It was found that the websites used a varying number of website design features that would enhance the user's online experience. Also, none of the sites satisfied the best practices model completely, thus there is room for improvement even for Amazon.com. It was recommended that Starke Ayres and Opposition 1 commence the improvement of the website with the implementation of the low cost features which are relatively easy to implement as these would significantly improve the website without the requirement of large amount of capital. Significant investment of capital will however be required to improve the website so that it is at the cutting edge of website design. The website needs to be developed into a cutting edge website in the industry so that the company can develop its ecommerce venture into a strong competitive advantage. / Thesis (MBA) University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The purpose of this creative project is to report on the beginning stage of a heuristic analysis project. The purpose is to examine the problem of declining marriage numbers that face the Protestant Evangelical community, and address that dilemma in the design criteria of an online dating website. Clarifying values will be part of the analysis of the Evangelical culture inequities. In particular, by assessing Evangelical culture to form the basis of site design, and making recommendations of action that can free it from its current constraints with respect to online dating. A study of the Marry Well Website will include investigating the perceived problems by the laity in connection with online dating. The research here is predictive in nature, in that the study creates a set of questions that can set in motion further research. / Department of Telecommunications

The ability to target consumer segments and achieve a match between the product or promotional instrument and the consumer self-concept is stressed in the marketing literature. The online quality of a website has been said to have a positive impact on intention to use a website and perform a search, with preference for a website linked to perceptions of its credibility. Website preferences cam also encourage or discourage consumers’ purchasing intentions and the perceived visual attractiveness of a website is said to have a greater impact on e-loyalty and consumer retention than traditional attributes such as product selection and price. The important impact of preferences necessitates an understanding of the factors in a website that can appeal or not to people. Unfortunately, until as recently as 2004, studies investigating website aesthetics were anchored in the universalist paradigm which assumed that reactions would be universally held rather than differentiated according to demographic variables. A Canadian study in 2005 documented differences in reaction by gender but this study was inadequate in using a single commercial stimulus which had not been selected on any particular basis. Prior to this, research on web aesthetics was rooted in the universalist aesthetic in assuming that a single set of factors would suit all tastes. The overview describes the work by the author to ascertain the extent to which website productions differ by segmentation variables and the extent to which preferences can also be segmented. The author’s work has isolated the impact of segmentation variables (gender, personality and nationality) on website productions and of gender on website preferences and the overview focuses on gender since the impact of this variable has been explored in relation to productions and preferences.

This thesis presents a feasibility study of a Web-based digital music library and purchasing system. It investigates the current status of the enabling technologies for developing such a system. An analysis of various Internet audio codecs, streaming audio protocols, Internet credit card payment security methods, and ways for accessing remote Web databases is presented. The objective of the analysis is to determine the viability and the economic benefits of using these technologies when developing systems that facilitate music distribution over the Internet. A prototype of a distributed digital music library and purchasing system named WAPS (for Web-based Audio Purchasing System) was developed and implemented in the Java programming language. In this thesis both the physical and the logical component elements of WAPS are explored in depth so as to provide an insight into the inherent problems of creating such a system, as well as the overriding benefits derived from the creation of such a system.

The role and power of ICT today, particularly the Internet, cannot be underestimated. The Internet has a great impact on the business environment, where a large majority of companies and organisations have made substantial investments in an online presence in the form of websites, as well as the IT infrastructure needed to improve business processes. In terms of websites, research has shown that it is critical to identify the target market of the site and the actual users, and to construct the site according to their specific needs and preferences. This is to a large extent the focus of the field of Human Computer Interaction. It therefore makes perfect sense that many software products and websites fail to meet the users‟ needs, as they are designed mainly by Western designers for Eastern and African users. In essence, the failure is due to the fact that the design does not accommodate the cultural behaviours, understandings and preferences of the intended users, thus making it difficult for them to use and adopt them. This has been confirmed by many researchers who have studied various culture dimensions and their relation to Web design. As mentioned, the role of the Internet in terms of its effect in the business world is becoming increasingly important. However, the Internet could prove to play an influential role in the public sector as well and could therefore be used as a critical tool by government in the form of e-Government. Many countries are adopting e-Government initiatives in an attempt to improve their relations within government itself and with their citizens and businesses. This would help them to render better service delivery and at the same time empower the citizens to also participate in the governance of the country itself. The concept for this dissertation was formulated in terms of three key ingredients: e-Government, culture dimensions and Web design. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the way a specific culture dimension, referred to as the cultural-context dimension, which focuses on the communication process, can impact in Web design. Once this is achieved, it will be possible to determine how this can positively affect the design of the South African e-Government website so that the overall usability of the site may be improved. The improvements will be justified because the site would then match the cultural behaviours, perceptions and Web design preferences of South African users. In short, the goal of this III dissertation is to provide guidelines and recommendations that will improve the South African e-Government website (www.gov.za) by examining anthropologist Edward Hall‟s cultural-context dimension and its role in the Web design process.

The project developed eBay Learning Center System (ELCS), a web-based application that provides current and potential eBay users a way to learn about the many functions of the popular online auction and shopping web site and be successful eBay traders. ELCS provides end users with online tutorials, available both in multimedia and text formats, and methods of communicating with system administrators and other users by means of a message box and a discussion forum to facilitate learning and collaborative problem solving. The system employs current technologies such as SQL, HTML, ASP.NET, VBScript, XML, ODBC, and ADO.

The purpose of this project is to design, develop and implement an e-commerce shopping cart system based on Microsoft.NET technology and to evaluate ASP.NET technology by developing a shopping cart system.

This project examines the creation of an online tutor training Web site designed to teach those tutors at the California State University, San Bernardino's Learning Center who cannot attend tutor training in person. The training Web site utilizes the instructional design ADDIE model.