Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Animation is increasingly considered an important aspect of quality website design. Although research indicates the positive effects well-crafted visual design can have on user perceptions of a website, there is little research investigating animation’s effects on user perceptions. Adopting an experimental design, this study examines the effects of interface micro animation on users’ perceptions of design quality, credibility, and trust in a website. After viewing a series of identical hypothetical nonprofit organization websites, participants were divided into two groups for the last website. One group was presented with a website incorporating interface micro animations and the other with the same website but without animations. An online questionnaire was used to assess participants’ perceptions of the last website. Welch’s t-tests were conducted to examine the effects of website interface micro animation. Analyses factoring in participant age and gender revealed trends in the data suggesting demographic-based differences in perceptions of and responses to interface micro animation. This study helps inform future use of animation in website interfaces as a way to communicate more effectively with users.
Disciplines
Communication | Communication Technology and New Media | Graphic Communications | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Publication Date
5-2024
Language
English
Faculty Mentor of Honors Project
Chyng-Yang Jang
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Burge, Lydia F., "The Impact of Website Interface Micro Animations on User Perceptions of Trust, Credibility, and Design Quality" (2024). 2024 Spring Honors Capstone Projects. 11.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_spring2024/11
Comments
Acknowledgements:
I would first like to thank my mentor, Dr. Chyng-Yang Jang, for his support and guidance throughout this project and for always challenging me to make my best work even better. This project would not exist had I not had the privilege of learning from his extensive website design/development and research experience.
The other faculty and staff within the Communication Technology sequence—Dr. Chunke Su, Professor Carlos Cucalon, and Dr. Brian Horton—equipped me with the website development skills necessary for this project. Special thanks go to Dr. Horton for helping me discover my interest in website animation. I am also grateful to Dr. Erika Pribanic-Smith, Dr. Karishma Chatterjee, and Dr. Molly Wiant Cummins for helping me gain the research experience that prepared me for this project, as well as to Dr. Grace Brannon for encouraging me in my research endeavors.
Throughout this project and my entire time as an undergraduate, my family has encouraged me to persevere through challenges, listened patiently when I needed to talk through problems, and celebrated my successes with me. Their love and support have been an immense source of encouragement for me.
Finally, I am grateful to the Honors College for providing the opportunity to pursue this project. I would especially like to thank Cheryl Gralish for her support throughout my honors journey and Dr. Rebekah Chojnacki for guiding me through the development of this thesis. I am proud to represent my major within such an excellent honors program.