Is the physical consistency of web interface design important in terms of user performance and satisfation?

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A good web interface design is an important factor that helps users “interact” with computers. In the present, web interfaces need to be presented and designed in a way in which it can be easily received by the user. In the design field, the elements users see on a computer screen such as the text, graphics and icons etc. make up the interface of a web page (Dabbs, 2002) . Users rely on the interface to complete online tasks and interact with computers and maintaining consistency is an arguably important principle to follow in order to design a good interface. Designers, handbooks and guidelines from the late 20th century to the present stress the importance of consistency, especially physical consistency, the graphical appearance and the visual characteristics of an interface. With many previous studies and experiments, there has long been the question of whether physical consistency in user interface design, in this case, web interface design is an important factor within Human-Computer Interaction (Axelsson, 2012) . The aim of this essay is to explore whether the physical consistency of web interface design is important in terms of user performance and satisfaction.

In 1998, computer-scientist Ben Schneidermann wrote a seminar book that outlined the “Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design” and “Strive for consistency” was the first rule in the list (Geest, 2005) . Interface consistency has always been a widely debated principle and a hard term to define. There are many definitions for the term, but no widely accepted one. While Interface consistency in itself has no clear definition, according to researchers and professionals, consistency is generally the design principle that enforces the importance of uniformity (Stone, Jar...

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