Online searches for reliable information present a challenge, given the enormous amount of information and variety of sources-many questionable sources offer information on Web sites with an appealing design, which may signal high credibility through appearance. Drawing on a persuasion perspective, conceptualizations for online information credibility, and information foraging theory, a main experiment n = 574 and a follow-up study n = 293 examined influences of Web site sponsorship, Web site design appeal, and search engine ranking on online information credibility. Results show that sponsor credibility affected information assessment, whereas a more appealing Web site design could not compensate for low sponsor credibility. Additionally, a high search-engine ranking increased sponsor credibility and thus influenced information credibility indirectly.