Two-Factor Model for Website Design and Evaluation

How do we evaluate websites? How do you evaluate them? Everyone has different criteria and preferences when it comes to design, but which ones are the most important? And what if you could find a way to figure out whether a website design was good or bad based on a theory or model? In an effort to categorize and study these factors, researchers from Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York) presented a two-factor model for website design in the year 2000 to help guide website design and evaluation.

According to this two-factor model for website design, there are two main types of web design factors: hygiene and motivator. These terms don’t mean much, so we’ll add some definitions to them. In Ping Zhang and Gisela M. von Dran’s model, hygiene factors “are those whose presence make a website functional and serviceable, and whose absence causes user dissatisfaction.” Meanwhile, motivator factors “are those that add value to the website by contributing to user satisfaction.” Another way to think about these factors is by correlating hygiene factors with the necessities of web design, and motivator factors with bonus features and perks to that particular web design.

So what factors did they take into account into deciding whether a website was great or terrible? In their study, some of the main categories included aesthetics, design, privacy, enjoyment, cognitive outcome (quality of content), technical aspects, navigation, organization, credibility and amount of content.

Through their research, they clearly identified that enjoyment, credibility and cognitive outcome were the strongest motivator factors. Meanwhile, technical aspects, navigation and privacy were the top three hygiene factors.

So what does this tell us? It tells us that all websites must have good privacy, navigation and functionality as core necessities. However, if your website is more appealing and has a lot of good quality and credible content…then that makes your website that much greater as compared to those that don’t.

At CryoDragon, we can make sure all your needs are met. Our technical prowess and keen sense of design is the perfect marriage to help make your website into one of your most valuable online marketing tools. Contact us now for a free quote!

Reference:

Zhang P, and von Dran GM. 2000. Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers: A Two-Factor Model for Website Design and Evaluation. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 51(14): 1253-1268.