Web assessment-a model for the evaluation and the assessment of successful electronic commerce applications

Today many a Website features fancy graphics, well organized content, but rarely induces the visitor to come back on a regular basis (with exceptions of course). The electronic commerce revolution experiences a setback due to a lack of consumer interest and some potential customers turn their screens off rather than meddling their way through a purchase order. But why are customers so indifferent? This paper addresses a largely unexplored issue: the analysis of supposedly interactive electronic commerce applications. The paper defines the theoretical framework of the Web Assessment Model. The model builds on the three transaction phases-information, agreement, and settlement-and parts of a product performance system to embrace the notion of community-a central issue in virtual environments-a further phase is added, and media inherent criteria are derived. The paper closes by applying the model to the Web site of Swissair, the national airline of Switzerland