The sustainability and survival of universities in the highly competitive local and global markets are increasingly dependent on the effectiveness of a website. This is because university websites serve as an important marketing tool and are considered a primary source of information to all stakeholders, particularly prospective and current students. The number of Generation Y students registering at higher education institutions increases annually. It is therefore essential to understand the factors that influence these students' university website usage intention. As such, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived trust, satisfaction and attitude on intention to use university websites amongst South African Generation Y students. Self-administered questionnaires were used to survey a convenience sample of 319 Generation Y students registered at the campuses of two Gauteng-based higher education institutions in South Africa. The statistical techniques used to analyse the data included descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis, reliability measures and structural equation modelling. The results of the study suggest that the participants' perceived satisfaction with university websites has a significant positive influence on their perceived trust in university websites, which, in turn, has a significant positive influence on their attitude towards university websites. Subsequently, attitude towards university websites has a significant positive influence on Generation Y students' university website usage intention. Understanding the factors that positively influence the sampled participants' university website usage intention can assist universities in gearing their online marketing strategies more successfully towards this market segment, and in doing so, increase their website penetration rate and student numbers.

In South Africa, an increasing number of Generation Y students register at higher education institutions on an annual basis. This rising number, coupled with university websites being a primary source of information and a basis for creating institutional impressions that can affect the attitudes and behavioural intentions of students, highlights the importance of understanding the factors that influence Generation Y students' attitudes towards university websites. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine the influence of ease of use, usefulness and playfulness on Generation Y students' attitudes towards university websites within the South African context. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a convenience sample of 319 Generation Y students registered at two higher education institution campuses in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis. The findings indicate that the ease of use, usefulness and playfulness of university websites have a significant positive influence on Generation Y students' attitudes towards university websites. Universities can use the findings of this study to improve the effectiveness of their websites in an attempt to positively influence Generation Y students' attitudes towards the sites.