Gender Differences in First Impressions of Web Pages: The Role of Attractiveness, Complexity, and Brightness on Perceived Design Quality

First impressions of a web page are important since users can form a lasting impression of a site in as little as 50ms (Lindgaard et al, 2006; Lindgaard et al, 2011). This study examined gender differences of initial impressions of 50 e-commerce web pages. Participants rated each page on five attributes: masculinity/femininity, brightness, attractiveness, complexity, and design quality. Results from a multiple linear regression showed that user perceptions of attractiveness and complexity were predictive of whether a web page was rated as well-designed. When examined by gender, it was found that this same finding was true of females but not for males, who did not report the same relationship between complexity and design quality. Sample pages which resulted in gender rating differences are discussed.