Designing to Sell Online: Persuasive Power in Action  

Electronic commerce promises to radically transform business. To remain competitive, businesses must address many issues before success can be realized. Key to the success of ecommerce will be the effectiveness of the web design interface interacting with consumers. Our user-centered case study, which received an STC Research Grant last July, evaluates consumer attitudes to the on-line shopping experience by observing this interaction. We measure the rhetorical power of design elements on an e-commerce site by using classical rhetoric as the theoretical framework for analyzing our results. This paper reports the preliminary findings of this research.

Winn, Wendy and Kati Beck. STC Proceedings (2000). Design>Web Design>E Commerce>Rhetoric

The Persuasive Power of Design Elements on an E-Commerce Web Site    

There was $3 billion [USD] lost on the Web last year because of poor design—sites not realizing that if they just make it easier for the consumer to buy, they'll make more sales'. James Daly, editor-in-chief of Business 2.0, echoed a similar view: 'Design is the channel for bringing a new spirit into an online shop ... creative, customer-centric, humanizing design will ultimately distinguish the winners from the losers.' Because the computer interface is often the only contact the customer has with an online company, good Web design is undoubtedly key to a company's success.

Winn, Wendy and Kati Beck. Technical Communication Online (2002). Design>Web Design>E Commerce