Is good enough good enough?

Abstract

This article explores whether amateur Web designs would deter Web users from engaging with a business after viewing a wWebsite---and if their expectations and value judgments are influenced by business size and scope. This topic is important to small business owners, practitioners, and educators because credibility judgments by Web visitors may be quick and detrimental to a small business if they do not yield a positive response and subsequent engagement with the small business. This study provides an opportunity to broaden our understanding of Web visitor credibility judgments about small businesses and introduces a new thread to the discussion about alignment of consumer expectations, Web design teaching, industry best practices, and the shaping of universal values as they relate to the rhetoric of the Internet.