Located: research topics > human interaction

User perceptions based on long retrieval times on the Web

Authors: Ramsay, J., Barbesi, A. & Preece, J. (1998)

Abstract: A study of whether latency between requesting pages and recieving pages on the world Wide Web influences user perceptions. The study found that pages that loaded faster were perceived as significantly more interesting.

Authors point to research that 10 seconds wait time is traditional human factors guidelines before people lose interest.

The 4th GVU WWW Users Survey, Pitkow and Kehoe found that in contrast with the smaller-scale hypertext experience, web users did not report orientation as a high-ranking problem in using the World Wide Web.This creates an interesting issue. Much of the thrust of Fleming, Nielsen and Lynch's arguments are based on the importance of feedback, particularly in relation to structure and orientation. Research by McDonald & Stevenson even suggests that performance and efficiency of web site users is increased as a result of orientation tools such as maps. But Tognazzini suggests that even though the web is a space, users feel more comfortable if presented with the illustion that content is brought to them, not that they must go to the content. This concept suggests a lessening of the importance of orientation, and concurs with the survey findings.

The Survey also revealed that the most widely reported problem from 23,000 responses from web users was download times (76.5%). It should be remembered that the survey was done in 1996, when slower modem speeds were more common than today.

Results of this user-perception study showed a significant difference between pages that had been allocated the fastest loading times, and those allocated the slowest. This difference was revealed through user ratings of how interesting the content of the pages were. The fastest page was judged significantly more interesting than its slower counterparts.