The purpose of this study was to identify the affect of environmental web-design on students' perceptions of social presence and the development of community amongst small groups in an online course. The nature of online learning can be framed by many theoretical approaches, but two especially relevant theories have been utilized in this study: (1) Constructivism and (2) Social Presence Theory. Constructivism refers to the nature of human interaction and the emergence of shared meaning within groups (Delia, 1977). Social Presence Theory predicts how an individual perceives another during Computer Mediated Communications (CMC) (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976). Social presence is an attribute of the medium based on the user's perception of others' personality, intention, and communication in CMC. The environmental web-design features used in a learning environment may affect user experiences and interpersonal interactions, ergo affecting social presence perceptions of the medium. High social presence facilitates group dynamics that develop and aid in creating a sense of personal belonging and community amongst group members. In the present study, it was hypothesized that online college students utilizing individual identity presentations would have higher levels of perceived social presence than students in an online course utilizing group identity-presentations.