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There is an abundance of information on the World Wide Web; however, it can be difficult to find trustworthy information online. It is especially important to ensure that information we produce online is credible, but it can be difficult to create a web site that appears credible. A web site can project an image of trustworthiness by creating an ethos of credibility. In this essay, I will examine the principles that a web-site author (web author) could employ to establish credibility.

Where print media is concerned, we have experience evaluating the material we encounter. We know, for instance, that something in the New York Times has a somewhat higher chance of accuracy than a similar piece in one of the "Elvis is alive and living with aliens" supermarket tabloids. However, beyond the obvious government and respected newspaper web sites, we do not have similar experience with the new information providers we encounter on the Web. We have to worry a great deal about factual inaccuracies. "Once on the Web, the user often goes down a link path only to find that either the desired link does not exist or the site has moved to another location. In the first case, there is an obvious error, often the result of the site developer not testing the links (a transgression similar to a newspaper not checking the facts contained in a news article); in the second, it is a case of there not being a sufficient ongoing review of the material" (McMullen, 16). These errors are easy to recognize. It is errors of content that concern us. Content errors are more insidious because the user may not rapidly realize or discover that the information provided is incorrect. The information may make the site look credible, when instead the site is disreputable. At the very least, if a reader discovers one shred of false information on a site, the site may lose all credibility.

Web authors can create credibility for their sites in many different ways. One publication, "Ten C’s for Evaluating Internet Resources," gives readers a heuristic for evaluating web sites. Web authors could evaluate their web sites against the "ten C’s" to determine whether they have an ethos of credibility. Among the "ten C’s" are content, credibility, copyright, citation and continuity. First and foremost, Web authors must ensure that the content they provide is completely free of errors, as mentioned above. In order to adhere to this guide, web sites would have content whose intent is clear and whose titles and authors are clearly identified. A reader should be able to determine whether the content is popular, scholarly, satiric or serious and the document or article should be clearly dated.

A credible web site is one in which the author states the purpose of the information provided and has a URL of .edu, .gov or .org. A URL of .edu indicates that an educational institution owns the site; a URL of .gov indicates that a government agency owns the site; and a URL of.org indicates that a not-for-profit organization owns the site. Some web sites with a URL of .com or .net are credible, but it is more difficult to determine their credibility and reliability. A .com or .net web site may be credible and reliable if the web site has a real world counterpart. For instance, you can trust the information you discover about IBM at www.ibm.com if you are searching for information about IBM.

Copyrights, citations and continuity are also important elements of reliable web sites. Reliable web sites copyright their material and display this information prominently. Internet resources should be cited to identify source materials used, both to give credit to the author and to provide readers with avenues for further research. Standard style manuals, both print and online, provide examples of how to cite Internet documents, although standards have not yet been formally established. Web sites that do not provide citations are often suspect. A credible and reliable web site also has continuity in that the site is maintained and updated regularly (Richmond).

When creating a credible web site, think about to where your site links and from where sites link back to your site. A credible and reliable site links to other sources of credible and reliable information. "No reputable organization would position itself as the sole source of information on a particular topic" (ML, 23).

It is also important to examine the visual cues you put on your web site. As Kevin Hunt tells us, "The visual cues…used to construct a web site can be used to create a site that conveys a specific ethos, or character, for the organization" (378). The graphics should be professional looking and fulfill a purpose. An easily recognizable logo or graphic is an important visual piece of information. These symbols can add credibility to a site when they are company logos and can be connected to a real-world organization. The FDA says that graphics on web sites should be informative and should assist readers in clarifying information. It further states that, "Multimedia should be used to help explain medical information, not substitute for it. Some sites provide dazzling ‘bells and whistles’ but little scientifically sound information" (ML, 23). No matter what kind of web site you are creating, it is important to provide visual cues that appear professional and help explain your information.

In order to design a credible web site, pay close attention to the overall design of the site and the manner in which the information is structured. Credible sites are usually professionally designed and follow certain design criteria. The goal is to "provide for the needs of all potential users, adapting web technology to their expectations and never requiring the reader to simply conform to an interface that puts unnecessary obstacles in their paths" (Lynch).

Review the following list of criteria borrowed from Evaluating Internet Resources and Evaluating the Quality of Internet Information Sources to evaluate the credibility of a web site:

1. Does the site make good use of screen layout, colors and graphics?
1. Does the use of graphics and icons contribute to the clarity and usability of the information?
2. Is there a text alternative to the images?
3. Are the visual metaphors employed appropriate for predefined age groups?
4. Does the document follow accepted design principles (e.g., balance, unity, proportion, and simplicity)?
5. Is the design so complex that it detracts from the content?
6. Does the interface make use of consistent menu conventions from screen to screen? (This applies to screen layout and navigation.)
2. Is the site easy to read and navigate?
1. Is the information arranged clearly, logically and usefully?
2. Is the title of the document descriptive of its content?
3. Are headings clear and descriptive or do they use jargon meaningful only to the author?
4. Are readability and legibility guidelines followed?
5. Are the links clearly visible and understandable?
6. Does the interface make use of consistent menu conventions from screen to screen? (This applies to screen layout and navigation.)

While a web site that does not follow the above criteria does not necessarily lack credibility, it is best to design your site so that it follows at least some of the criteria because clarity, order and trustworthiness complement each other in information sources. "The overall construction of the site conveys a presence that in turn acts as a means of convincing potential web readers of the organization’s professionalism, credibility, usefulness or value" (Hunt, 378).

Web authors can create credible web sites if they pay close attention to the needs of their audiences. Most importantly, they need to provide visually appealing web sites that contain credible content that are free from hidden agendas. Credible web sites do not contain visible or content errors, state the purpose and intentions of the authors up front, have no hidden agendas and follow accepted design principles.

• Everhart, Nancy and Kathleen McKnight. "Web awards—are they reliable?" Technology Connection 4.7 (December 1997) : 16-18.
• Hunt, Kevin. "Establishing a Presence on the World Wide Web: A Rhetorical Approach" Technical Communication. 43.4 (November 1996) : 376-387.
• Lynch, Patrick and Sarah Horton. Yale Style Manual. Jan. 1997 http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual/interface/basic_interface1.html
• McMullen, John F. "I found it—but is it accurate?" Westchester County Business Journal. 35.36 (September 1996) : 16.
• ML. "Is this site reliable?" FDA Consumer. 30.5 (June 19996) : 23.
• Richmond, Betsy. Ten C’s for Evaluating Internet Resources. 20 Nov. 1996 http://www.uwec.edu/Admin/Library/10cs.html
• Saint Norbert College. Evaluating Internet Resources: Design/Appearance. http://www.snc.edu/library/eval10.htm

Melissa Alton graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May of 1996 with a BA in Secondary English Education and is currently a graduate student in the Technical Communications program at North Carolina State University, where she is concentrating on technical writing, web design and human-computer interactions. Melissa currently spends her time between classes working at IBM as a Web Designer/Developer and designing web sites for non-profit organizations. You can reach her at altonm@us.ibm.com.