5 ms·

Stanford's guidelines for web credibility

51 points by marketer 18y ago

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
someperson 18y ago
Is it just me or are all the guidelines listed just plain common sense?
- axod 18y ago
  I really hadn't even considered #7 - "Make your site easy to use -- and useful." So far I have been making mine hard to use, and useless, so this article came as a shock. edit: Come on... 3 years? 4,500 people? Was there anything really surprising on the list that wasn't brain dead obvious?
- vnorby 18y ago
  Research shows that when common sense is supported by research it seems more credible.
- yters 18y ago
  Some people think they can cut corners and fool others.
- andreyf 18y ago
  And that's exactly why you should forward it to your boss ;)
- sqs 18y ago
  While they should have done a better job highlighting the interesting parts of the research, dig a bit deeper and you will find them. The PDF links at the bottom are worth reading. (I know some people who worked on this stuff, and they are great people with lots of cool research and ideas.)
- skmurphy 18y ago
  I agree that they are the "cutting edge of common sense but you would be surprised at the number of sites that violate the first five (which I believe are key for B2B firms). 1/Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site. 2/Show that there's a real organization behind your site. 3/Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide. 4/Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site. 5/Make it easy to contact you.
ScottWhigham 18y ago
"Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem." Thanks you, Standford! I feal that you have opened up a door in my mind and I will never bee the same!!1
- motoko 18y ago
  "Standford?"
josefresco 18y ago
This is what students at Stanford are getting academic credit for?
Bjoern 18y ago
I concurr with the previous comments that most of these "guidelines" are common sense and this is definetly not groundbreaking. What is nice though is that you have a statistical "verified" list which is >most< and with is >least< important of the common sense we already know. Another thing why this could be probably^W interesting is that it could influence e.g. goverment, or other institutional sites.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
tuukkah 18y ago
8. Update your site's content often (at least show it's been reviewed recently). "Updated June, 2002" Typographical errors and broken links hurt a site's credibility more than most people imagine. It's also important to keep your site up and running. "The domain www.webcredibility.org which you are trying to access is currently unavailable."

51 points by marketer 18y ago

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

someperson 18y ago

Is it just me or are all the guidelines listed just plain common sense?

axod 18y ago
I really hadn't even considered #7 - "Make your site easy to use -- and useful." So far I have been making mine hard to use, and useless, so this article came as a shock. edit: Come on... 3 years? 4,500 people? Was there anything really surprising on the list that wasn't brain dead obvious?
vnorby 18y ago
Research shows that when common sense is supported by research it seems more credible.
yters 18y ago
Some people think they can cut corners and fool others.
andreyf 18y ago
And that's exactly why you should forward it to your boss ;)
sqs 18y ago
While they should have done a better job highlighting the interesting parts of the research, dig a bit deeper and you will find them. The PDF links at the bottom are worth reading. (I know some people who worked on this stuff, and they are great people with lots of cool research and ideas.)
skmurphy 18y ago
I agree that they are the "cutting edge of common sense but you would be surprised at the number of sites that violate the first five (which I believe are key for B2B firms). 1/Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site. 2/Show that there's a real organization behind your site. 3/Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide. 4/Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site. 5/Make it easy to contact you.

ScottWhigham 18y ago

"Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem." Thanks you, Standford! I feal that you have opened up a door in my mind and I will never bee the same!!1

motoko 18y ago
"Standford?"

josefresco 18y ago

This is what students at Stanford are getting academic credit for?

Bjoern 18y ago

I concurr with the previous comments that most of these "guidelines" are common sense and this is definetly not groundbreaking. What is nice though is that you have a statistical "verified" list which is >most< and with is >least< important of the common sense we already know. Another thing why this could be probably^W interesting is that it could influence e.g. goverment, or other institutional sites.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

tuukkah 18y ago

8. Update your site's content often (at least show it's been reviewed recently). "Updated June, 2002" Typographical errors and broken links hurt a site's credibility more than most people imagine. It's also important to keep your site up and running. "The domain www.webcredibility.org which you are trying to access is currently unavailable."