Abstract
Visual appeal has been shown to influence perceptions of usability and credibility, and we hypothesize that something similar is happening with user judgments of website security: What is beautiful is secure . Web certificates provide reliable information about a website’s level of security, presented in browser interfaces. Users should use this to inform their trust decisions online, but evidence from laboratory studies and real-world usage suggests that they do not. We conducted two studies—one in lab, and one online—in which participants view and interact with websites with high and low visual appeal, and various security levels, and then make security-related judgments. In both studies, participants consistently rated visually appealing websites as more secure, and indicated they would be more likely to enter sensitive information into visually appealing websites—even when they were less secure. Our results provide evidence that users rely on visual appeal when making security and trust decisions on websites. We discuss how these results may be used to help users.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
