Date of Award

12-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

English

Abstract

A visitor's perception of the credibility of a website and the organization behind it is a matter of great importance to any business. A theory known as prominence-interpretation theory suggests that users make credibility judgments through a two-step process: "1. The user notices something (Prominence), and 2. The user makes a judgment about it (Interpretation)" (Fogg, et al., 2003). With this theory as a basis for support, Heidi Everett (2012) developed a credibility test for small businesses to assess the credibility of their website through a focus group.

Global Village Gifts (GVG) is a not-for-profit fair trade store in Logan, UT. Using Everett's study (2012), I utilized a focus group to get feedback on the credibility of GVG's website. Using feedback from the focus group, I redesigned the website with changes to the color, text, and visual elements of the website. Through my research, I learned that a focus group allows a designer to focus on what users wanted to see, rather than using personal judgment to make all decisions regarding design and organization.

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Faculty Mentor

Rebecca Walton

Departmental Honors Advisor

Phebe Jensen