Facets of Website Content

Abstract

Content is of primary importance in the World Wide Web. In particular, subjective perceptions of content are known to influence a variety of user evaluations, thereby altering attitudes and behavioral outcomes. Thus, it is essential that individually experienced facets of content can be adequately assessed. In a series of seven studies, we create, validate, and benchmark a measure for users’ subjective view on web content. In the first six studies, a total of 3106 participants evaluated a sum of 60 websites. The resulting Web-CLIC questionnaire is a 12-item measure based on prior research on web content. It encloses four main facets of users’ content experience: clarity, likeability, informativeness, and credibility – jointly representing a general factor subjective content perception. Very high internal consistencies and high short- to medium-term retest reliabilities are demonstrated. Strong evidence for construct validity in terms of factorial, convergent, divergent, discriminative, concurrent, experimental, and predictive validity is found. In a seventh study, encompassing 7379 ratings on 120 websites, benchmarks for 10 different content domains and optimal cut points are provided. Overall, the present research suggests that the Web-CLIC is a sound measure of subjective content perception of both practical and theoretical benefit.

Keywords:

• Web-CLIC
• website evaluation
• user experience
• information quality
• web content

Notes

¹ Website aesthetics is defined as “an immediate pleasurable subjective experience that is directed toward an object and not mediated by intervening reasoning” (Moshagen & Thielsch, 2010, p. 690).

² Usability is defined as the “extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use” (ISO, 1998, p. 2).

³ According to the guidelines provided by Cohen (1988), standardized mean differences of 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 are considered small, medium, and large effects, respectively.

⁴ We conducted an additional fourth measurement one year later in which n = 216 participants took part. Although we found significant retest correlations (r_T1–T4 = .636 for the sum score, .487 ≤ r_T1–T4 ≤ .636 for Web-CLIC scales), we decided not to report those results in detail as we are not able to determine whether the decrease in correlations occurs due to aspects of users, websites, evaluated construct, or the instrument. Thus, further research is needed to determine longitudinal effects in web content perception.

⁵ If subfacets of credibility are of interest, we recommend the use of a more specific measure further differentiating this facet (e.g., Chung, Nam, & Stefanone, 2012).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Meinald T. Thielsch

Meinald T. Thielsch ([email protected], www.meinald.de) is a psychologist with an interest in human–computer interaction, user experience, and online research; he is an Akademischer Rat (tenured faculty member) at the Department of Psychology, University of Münster.

Gerrit Hirschfeld ([email protected], www.gerrithirschfeld.de) is a psychologist with an interest in statistics and research methods; he is professor for quantitative methods in the Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück.