Published: July 20, 2016
The human eye blink takes between 100-400 milliseconds – more than 2x as long as it takes visitors to form impressions of your website.
4 tips on making a lasting first impression with your website3 min read
The human eye blink takes between 100-400 milliseconds – more than 2x as long as it takes visitors to form impressions of your website.
4 tips on making a lasting first impression with your website3 min read
The human eye blink takes between 100-400 milliseconds – more than 2x as long as it takes visitors to form impressions of your website.
4 tips on making a lasting first impression with your website3 min read
The human eye blink takes between 100-400 milliseconds – more than 2x as long as it takes visitors to form impressions of your website.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Does your website make a good first impression? In the blink of an eye. We’ve all said this, right? We use it to describe the rapid way in which life can change – so fast it’s instantaneous. To be exact, a human eye blink takes between 100 and 400 milliseconds. Crazy fast.
Now what if I tell you that is more than twice as long as what research tells us it takes someone to form an impression of your website?
Research says it takes only 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for a new visitor on your web site to form an impression. According to researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, it takes just another 2.6 seconds for the viewer’s eyes to concentrate in a way that reinforces that first impression. (The researchers employed eye-tracking software and an infrared camera to monitor study participant’s eye movements as they viewed test website pages.) Add in the fact that users typically spend an average of just 8 seconds on your website, and it all adds up to the same thing: your site has to deliver, and it has to do it – literally – in the blink of an eye.
So how do you communicate your brand message in a way that leaves the best first impression? How do you draw traffic to your site and get results? Should you be tracking your visitors and where and when they are dropping of your site?
Depending on your website’s purpose, a good first impression can be the result of a number of critical website design components.
Consider these:
How to make a great first impression on your website
- Make sure your message and purpose are clear
What’s the one reason why potential customers need you? You and everyone in your company should be able to answer that in a matter of seconds by looking at your website. But are you communicating that to your visitors fast enough? If not, you should be. New visitors should be able to very quickly determine the purpose of a website. Many sites effectively incorporate this into their branding by using a descriptive tag line that sums up the site’s purpose. Proper messaging through quick, easy to understand copy messaging, imagery and targeted content on the home page (to drive SEO results) is all necessary.
- Let the layout be the guide
Are you providing your visitors with visual direction? Does the site design direct them with their eyes so that they know what they should do or where they should look? The color, size, placement, and imagery can affect the experience of your visitors, so make sure you utilize them in a cohesive manner to highlight the proper visual weight for each section. Further – and critical to a successful website – your layout, image choice and typography all need to align with your company brand and messaging.
- No one is having fun if your site doesn’t function
Your pages should load quickly – people will move on if they don’t. Functionally, your site should be working for you, and by that, I mean driving traffic to your site and then gathering leads, generating sign-ups, selling your products efficiently and effectively, and then saving that data to use in future marketing efforts. It should be functionally working for your visitors – how do they get to where they want to be on your site quickly?
- Targeted, relevant content creation is key
Properly written content quickly engages, drives and sells your exact target audience, while also aligning with SEO exposure and Google’s ever-changing algorithms. Good first impressions lead to longer visit durations, which means the more time consumers are spending getting to know your organization and your products or services.
Contact us today to have a quick, free website audit done on your site to ensure that you are making your best first and long-lasting impressions.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Does your website make a good first impression? In the blink of an eye. We’ve all said this, right? We use it to describe the rapid way in which life can change – so fast it’s instantaneous. To be exact, a human eye blink takes between 100 and 400 milliseconds. Crazy fast.
Now what if I tell you that is more than twice as long as what research tells us it takes someone to form an impression of your website?
Research says it takes only 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for a new visitor on your web site to form an impression. According to researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, it takes just another 2.6 seconds for the viewer’s eyes to concentrate in a way that reinforces that first impression. (The researchers employed eye-tracking software and an infrared camera to monitor study participant’s eye movements as they viewed test website pages.) Add in the fact that users typically spend an average of just 8 seconds on your website, and it all adds up to the same thing: your site has to deliver, and it has to do it – literally – in the blink of an eye.
So how do you communicate your brand message in a way that leaves the best first impression? How do you draw traffic to your site and get results? Should you be tracking your visitors and where and when they are dropping of your site?
Depending on your website’s purpose, a good first impression can be the result of a number of critical website design components.
Consider these:
How to make a great first impression on your website
- Make sure your message and purpose are clear
What’s the one reason why potential customers need you? You and everyone in your company should be able to answer that in a matter of seconds by looking at your website. But are you communicating that to your visitors fast enough? If not, you should be. New visitors should be able to very quickly determine the purpose of a website. Many sites effectively incorporate this into their branding by using a descriptive tag line that sums up the site’s purpose. Proper messaging through quick, easy to understand copy messaging, imagery and targeted content on the home page (to drive SEO results) is all necessary.
- Let the layout be the guide
Are you providing your visitors with visual direction? Does the site design direct them with their eyes so that they know what they should do or where they should look? The color, size, placement, and imagery can affect the experience of your visitors, so make sure you utilize them in a cohesive manner to highlight the proper visual weight for each section. Further – and critical to a successful website – your layout, image choice and typography all need to align with your company brand and messaging.
- No one is having fun if your site doesn’t function
Your pages should load quickly – people will move on if they don’t. Functionally, your site should be working for you, and by that, I mean driving traffic to your site and then gathering leads, generating sign-ups, selling your products efficiently and effectively, and then saving that data to use in future marketing efforts. It should be functionally working for your visitors – how do they get to where they want to be on your site quickly?
- Targeted, relevant content creation is key
Properly written content quickly engages, drives and sells your exact target audience, while also aligning with SEO exposure and Google’s ever-changing algorithms. Good first impressions lead to longer visit durations, which means the more time consumers are spending getting to know your organization and your products or services.
Contact us today to have a quick, free website audit done on your site to ensure that you are making your best first and long-lasting impressions.
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