User Satisfaction, Aesthetics and Usability

Results from a series of web site studies suggest that the concept of user satisfaction comprises more than perceived aesthetics and usability. Satisfaction was repeatedly found to be a complex construct comprising ‘emotion’, ‘likeability’, and ‘expectation’ as well. A web site very high in appeal but low in usability scored highly on user satisfaction when first encountered. However, when faced with serious problems in a usability test, users’ overall level of satisfaction dropped considerably, but perceived aesthetics remained unchanged. Given the known importance of the first impression for subsequent judgments, our results suggest that user interface designers of e-commerce sites would be well advised to design pretty and usable sites. Designing for user efficiency and effectiveness alone is not enough unless the products and services offered on a web site are unique in the world.