Web Site Public Relations: How Corporations Build and Maintain R ...

Three conclusions can be drawn from the literature about the Web user experience: (1) it lacks both a rigorous definition and insight from theory-driven research; (2) it combines subjective perceptions with Web site characteristics; and (3) it can be influenced by altering the Web site design. Theory-driven research on the Web user experience is needed to address the conceptual and theoretical shortcomings of the literature and to provide more systematic, theory-based insights and recommendations for improving and customizing the Web site experience. Such research has value for both public relations scholarship and practice, because there is an overwhelming sense among industry specialists that the Web site experience is of major importance for the conduct of business and public relations online.

The costs of poor user experiences are great, say industry specialists, because users abandon sites they are frustrated with. In the case of ecommerce sites, this results in a direct loss of money (Hurst & Gellady, 1999). On the other hand, a positive Web user experience is believed to hold the key to increased sales, return visits, and good relationships with site visitors (Goldie, 2003; Hurst & Gellady, 1999; IBM, 2003b; Nielsen, 1997; Nielsen & Norman, 2000; Paul, 2000; Souza, Manning, Sonderegger, Roshan, & Dorsey, 2001).

Thinking of Web sites as experiences can be more than a Web design trend. This project takes the emphasis on Web site user experience one step further and articulates theoretical and methodological implications of examining Web sites as experiences as opposed to texts.

Experience Versus Text

What does it mean to think of Web sites as experiences, not as texts? Bringing up the notion of text opens a vast discussion about the meaning of text as a rhetorical artifact.