Looks can be deceiving, so the saying goes – and it turns out that they can potentially keep deceiving for years. This accurately reflects just how important your website’s visual design can be to its overall success, with visitors taking only about 50 milliseconds to form their first opinion of the site.
That statistic has been backed by studies – and means that, if you want to quickly impress, you need to get your site’s colours, text and other visual elements right. Still, why it is so crucial?
Some users could assess your site within just 17 milliseconds
Google’s own research has confirmed that opinions of a site can indeed take shape in just 50 milliseconds, but added that some, rather alarmingly, can even emerge within a mere 17 milliseconds. Nonetheless, this did not quite hold true with all design factors.
With Google having revealed that more prototypical sites are deemed more appealing, you should be careful not to divert too far from how people expect a site of your type of organisation to look.
Certain elements of a site’s design attract more attention than others
Research has also monitored participants’ eye movements to see which parts of a web page these people primarily focus on and for how long. In one study, participants were found to pay attention mainly to the institution’s logo, focusing on this for 6.48 seconds.
Our graphic designers can expertly craft a great-looking logo for your institution – and don’t overlook that the research participants also spent an average of 5.94 seconds looking at the site’s main image.
94% of first impressions are affected by the site’s design
Naturally, you want your site to be deemed trustworthy – and this can be particularly important if it is in the health sector, from which sites were chosen for a revelatory British study…
That study solicited feedback from test participants on how varying design and information content factors influenced their initial perception of these sites. 94% of the feedback related to design – and, specifically, to factors like the layout and the use of colour and text.
A visually appealing site can even impress more than a highly usable one
You might expect that an ugly-looking site could overcome adverse early impressions if it turns out to be easy to practically use… right?
Not quite, according to one study, which found that first impressions most driven by a site’s visual appeal tended to linger. An unsightly site would be given a low usability rating even after the user had had a successful experience with putting that site through its paces.
A good-looking site can prove an ultimately satisfying site overall
Unsurprisingly given what you’ve just read, making your site’s design look good can lead users to perceive that site as satisfying on many other scores, too. Fortunately, at Webahead Internet, we are experts in making sites look good, so we urge you to phone us on 01325 582112 to take action on the matter of your own site’s appearance.
