The Credibility of a product is absolutely critical, whether it is coming from a brand-new startup, or an established corporation. There is a great deal that goes into the Credibility of a product, from the people that hype it, to its visual presentation. However, there are a few basic elements that go directly to the foundational aspects of product Credibility upon which the rest of the product’s truthfulness is built.

Quick-UX provides for the rapid, simple and quantifiable assessment of a product’s User Experience (UX). In answering the question of Usefulness, "Should I use it?" the sub-category of Credibility is one in the frequent discussion of cautious engagement, especially in the ever increasing, in both frequency and size, waves of introductions of online products.

Establishing and maintaining Credibility is the removal, or minimization of concerns arising from these types of questions. Many elements (design, accuracy, usability, timeliness, advertising, etc.) contribute to the positive, or negative, perception of overall product Credibility, but for Quick-UX’s evaluation we assess only the most elemental. For a refresher of the Quick-UX Credibility Rubric visit: Quick-UX & Credibility: Do you believe?

Today, we will look at the first of two general examples of products with Average Credibility values, from 0.45 – 0.75.

Average Credibility

Example 1: MakingOf

On the low end of the Average Credibility range is MakingOf, founded, in-part, by Natalie Portman, as a social network for people interested in the movie making industry.

As previously highlighted, a contact form is an acceptable, credible means by which a company can be contacted.

And, while I was able to find very few obscure typos, none would rise to the occasion of being considered to be of the Obvious variety.

Celebrity

Celebrity founders confer valuable Credibility-boosting cachet upon the projects that they touch. Typically, with celebrity backed products, it is understood that the celebrity will be quite busy (with all their celebrity ‘duties’) and are expected to have little time to work directly on the product. As a result, beyond the positive impact on the Quick-UX Credibility value, the presentation of a comprehensive team, accompanied by individual biographies, contributes greatly to nurturing an atmosphere of trust and shared confidence.

Should Do

Having a celebrity on the founding team is a major shot in the arm, especially when it comes to Credibility. However, having…

A physical address, and
More direct means of contacting important members of the company…

… would go a long way in establishing this product’s Credibility and raising its Average Credibility value of 0.45.

New users are more comfortable participating in an online community if it is clear that the community is not a momentary whim (of a celebrity), but a real product, with a real address, with real ways to reach out to team members, that is also intended to last.

Quick & Useful

Over the next few weeks I will be exploring and ins-and-outs of Credibility, walking through real-world examples of the Quick-UX evaluation of Credibility…

No Credibility
Barely Low Credibility (part 1, 2, 3)
Solidly Low Credibility (part 1, 2)
Average Credibility & Tech News (part 1, 2, 3)
More Average Credibility (part 1, 2)
High Credibility

Update: Renewed Pogby
Update: Likexo

Quick-UX Credibility, In Conclusion

Subscribe now (click here) to make sure you don’t miss any part of this series exploring the Usefulness and Credibility components of Quick-UX, the quick and easy method of generating quantifiable and comparable metrics representing the understanding of the overall User Experience of a product, as well as other insightful posts from The Product Guy.

Enjoy!

Jeremy Horn
The Product Guy

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