Do people "pass by" plain-text sites?

[Bill Trefzger]

At 12:47 PM 7/29/97 -0700, KAREN SCHNEIDER wrote:
>On another discussion list, in the midst of  a debate about the
>relative value of graphics on websites, the statement was made
>that "there are MANY,MANY people who will pass a plain, text
>only (no graphics) site right by."  
>
>Do we actually *know* this?  Or is it a WOM (Word Of Mouth)?

I think most user interface experts would be able to demonstrate that
graphical elements on a page can improve its usability. And if something is
more usable, it will get used more (and not passed by). Of course, it has
to be done properly--graphics do not automatically make a page more usable.
But a page that loads faster is also not automatically more usable either.

On our library web site we re-organized and added many new graphical
elements. Usage more than doubled in the first month, and has continued to
increase at a very satisfying rate. Response from users was positive. We
also followed up with a usability study by user interface experts here
(which included controlled observation of actual users), and there were
several examples where the graphical elements were cited as being
beneficial for navigating the site. This included the use of frames and
tables.

I wouldn't surprise me to find that a site that looks boring is more likely
to get bypassed versus one that is interesting, all things being equal. The
same might hold true for a garish site versus a tasteful one too. It would
also depend on the information seeking behvior of the user, which is going
to vary, user to user and session to session. 

Here's a question for the list:

Would you use Lynx or Netscape/MSIE in a demonstration to management where
you were trying to obtain more money for your library's web efforts?


              Bill Trefzger        
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