The role of web design in persuasive tourism websites : a Maltese case study

Abstract

This dissertation was written with the aim of getting an added insight into the world of persuasive website design. Nowadays there are so many options to choose from when shopping online that it is interesting to see how web design can influence people to make use of, and purchase from, a particular website when there are a plethora of other websites selling identical or similar products. The researcher wanted to test whether visual appeal of a webpage had any effect on the persuasiveness of the website, and what degree these influences had. Following that, the researcher wanted to determine which web design elements were perceived to be the most important. In order to achieve this, the researcher adopted a dual-study approach using local travel agencies as a case study. First, an online survey was conducted to examine the relationship between visual appeal and persuasiveness. Two focus groups were then conducted in order to explore the ways in which websites of contrasting persuasiveness are perceived. The results from the first study indicated that first impressions of visual appeal is a very good indicator of the persuasiveness of a website. From the second study, the most salient web design elements to emerge from the focus groups were the use of images and text, the visual hierarchy and negative space of a page, and the colour scheme. This dissertation has implications for travel agency companies looking to design a more persuasive website.