The interaction effects of familiarity, breadth and media usage on web browsing experience

Web technology is changing rapidly every day and the internet has become a lifestyle for people all over the world. The power of the web has changed the way people communicate and do business. With the advance of the internet era, a successful website becomes a critical factor for the success of most businesses. Website design is not only about the look of the website. There are many other factors to consider. A well-designed site can induce users to engage in the website, help them find what they are looking for, and understand where exactly they are on the website. This study investigates the user's perception disorientation, engagement, and intent to use a website in the future by manipulating these three basic factors into eight different experimental conditions. With 2 x 2 x 2 experimental design with content familiarity, site breadth, and media richness in website systems, this study suggests that both the main effects and the interaction effects of the experiment factors are significant. This implies that one or more factors can compensate for the weakness of other factors. Furthermore different people have preferences for different factors: therefore website design should not solely focus on a single factor, but should address all of these factors in accordance with the objective of the business. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.