Designing for Usability or Aesthetics

It is not easy to make a decision between aesthetics and usability aspects: which one needs to be given more consideration? Usability and aesthetics, two primary factors in designing e-commerce websites, have been a subject of debate between usability specialists and graphic designers. The first group believe that usability is the key for a successful e-commerce website while graphic designers consider that aesthetic design of the website is the main factor that affects customer behaviour in purchasing online. However, in setting priority in website designing, designers should reflect on customers' perception towards the website. In this book one travel website is selected as a case study to evaluate with the aim of providing designer with useful information to enhance website designing, specifically travel websites.