I shall look at carinsurancefor1day.co.uk as a prospective customer who is middle-aged and rather unsure about setting up insurance online.

•The only occasions requiring one day insurance are all likely to be stressful. I want to find out the facts quickly, and don’t want to waste time filling in a form if the company is not likely to cover me.
• I am likely to be a little suspicious and want reassurance that the site will help me get valid insurance.



With images enabled

I don’t like the big moving picture. Apart from making me feel queasy, I suspect it uses up my data. I’m not interested in the idyllic scenes in the other pictures. They seem far more appropriate for a holiday or estate agent’s site. I find them distracting.

With images blocked

This is much better for me. I can look at the text and the navigation list without being distracted.

Confidence

The navigation table at the left side is clear and covers many things I’d like to check before completing the quote form.

When I click on the big picture to get a quote, it takes a little while for the form to load and this makes me nervous. Where am I going? Is this site really safe?
Then, when I get to the form I see I am now at another company’s site. I would feel more confident if :

• I’d been told you are an agent for the insurer
•The quote form could be embedded in your site


The Text

This is clearly written, but maybe too much for the first page. I think it is better to have less text with just the key points. The visitor can see the navigation bar so, if interested, can explore further. Keeping text short, with a clear ‘get a quote’ button is all I need to see on page one.

Using bullets is good as research finds many internet users skim rather than read. If people are in a hurry or are stressed, they might respond better to organised text.


Copyright by JOAN 2008