Differences in perceptions of web site characteristics by IT experts and non-experts

An important aspect of web site design involves anticipating and understanding consumer reactions to various web site attributes and using this information to make web sites more useful and satisfying for them. Unfortunately, IT professionals may not be well suited for this task. Through their training and employment experiences, IT professionals are likely to adopt perspectives and evaluation standards different from those used by consumers. As a result, they may lose touch with consumer wants and needs concerning web site design and content. This working paper examines differences in these two groups’ perceptions of design features, website content, and convenience, and examines how their perceptions affect overall evaluations and satisfaction with web site