Summary

The report contains a total of 34 design guidelines, based on usability testing of 20 big e-commerce sites with 64 users. When we analyzed 20 other big sites we found that the average site complied with 55% of these guidelines. In other words, credibility elements on these sites violated 15 of the design guidelines on average. Smaller sites typically have even more usability mistakes when it comes to trustworthy design.

44 pages. Richly illustrated with 23 color screenshots from many different websites, showing usability problems we found in our testing as well as examples of trust-enhancing designs.

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This document is a part of Nielsen Norman Group's series of design guidelines for e-commerce user experience.
 

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. About the Study - Overview of Method
3. Sites We Tested
4. Succinct and Readily Accessible Information About the Company
   • 3 design guidelines
5. Fair Pricing, Fully Revealed
   • 2 design guidelines
6. Sufficient and Balanced Product Information
   • 2 design guidelines
7. Correct, Timely, Professional Site Design
   • 8 design guidelines
8. Clear and Customer-Friendly Policies
   • 3 design guidelines
9. Appropriate Use of Personal Information
   • 7 design guidelines
10. Trustworthy Security
    • 2 design guidelines
11. Access to Helpful People
    • 3 design guidelines
12. Fulfill Customer Expectations
    • 4 design guidelines
13. Summary of Recommendations for Designers
14. References

Who Should Read This Report?

Running a similar usability study yourself to collect comparative design lessons from a large number of websites around the world would cost thousands more than the cost of these reports, not to mention months of effort by your team of experienced usability professionals.

44 pages PDF format: download your copy right now (from eSellerate) Single-user license: $45 Site license: $99 (allows you to place on your intranet and make unlimited copies within your company)