Web Aesthetics and Usability: An Empirical Study of the Effects of White Space

Usability has been an essential component of the Web User Experience UX and a focal research topic. In recent years, the penetration of interactive technologies in all aspects of everyday life challenges the way UX is understood and designed. The past decade, Human-Computer Interaction HCI scholars have been continuously attempting to introduce and explore new and non-traditional factors in the UX arena, such as aesthetics, emotions, affect, and trust. This study contributes to the field by exploring the relationship between aesthetics and UX; specifically the impact of the classical design element of white space on the perceived attractiveness and perceived usability of an e-commerce website. A between-subject research design involves the manipulation a website's white space. Three different versions were constructed using 25, 50 and 75% of the white space, respectively. Findings offer support for the relationship between aesthetics and the perceived usability of a website. The study results suggest that the usability of a website is impacted negatively when white space increases over 50%. Practitioners should consider that in the context of eCommerce Web design, reduction of content and shrinking of visual elements, in favor of white space, is likely to negatively impact the usability of a website.

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