Abstract

Firms gain many benefits from well-designed websites. But which elements of website design quality really matter, and how do these elements influence website usage behavior? With the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the theoretical foundation, this paper proposes that website design quality is a multi-dimensional construct with a higher-order structure that, when successfully incorporated into the UTAUT model, can conceptually outperform existing models. The results are based on a survey of 216 users of Internet banking. The findings indicate that the technical, general content and appearance dimensions of a website are the most important for users. In addition, these dimensions are significantly related to usage behavior directly and indirectly through belief constructs. Finally, a halo effect may influence the overall evaluation of a website because the dimensions of website design quality are interrelated. The implication is that improvements to the appearance of a website should enhance the overall evaluation of the site and lead to greater usage intentions.