University official website as information source: measuring information and website design quality, and user satisfaction

Information and website design quality are two relevant aspects when considering a successful website. This study was anchored on Uses and Gratifications theory to evaluate the information quality (accuracy, completeness and currency); and website design quality (accessibility, usability and satisfaction) of three private universities in Delta state and how they affect user’s satisfaction. Survey research method with questionnaire as instrument for data collection was used to purposively sample 250 students out of 13, 975 total population of Edwin Clark University, Novena University and Western Delta University students. Data generated was analysed with SPSS version 16. The study found that users were generally not satisfied with the information on the universities’ website based on their currency and completeness quality; however, they were satisfied with the accuracy of the information. On the other way, the websites were very accessible and usable, but did not translate to users’ satisfaction with the websites. The implication is that information quality is key in determining website user satisfaction. The study therefore recommended that universities should always provide detailed and updated information on their websites.