Lose a Sale in 50 Milliseconds
First impressions really count on the
Internet. People are making up their minds about the quality of a website in
the blink of an eye.
Researchers were surprised to learn that the brain makes decisions in
just a 20th of a second of viewing a webpage. They previously believed it
would take 10 times longer to form an opinion.
The study, published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology,
also suggests that first impressions have a lasting impact.
Speedy Conclusions
A Canadian research team showed volunteers glimpses of websites, lasting
for only 50 milliseconds. The volunteers then had to rate the websites in
terms of their aesthetic appeal. The researchers found that the speedily
formed conclusions closely tallied with opinions of the websites that had
been made after much longer periods of examination.
Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and lead
researcher of the paper expressed her surprise at the results.
"My colleagues believed it would be
impossible to really see anything in less than 500 milliseconds," she
told the interviewer from the website of the Nature journal, which reported
the research.
The judgements were being formed almost as quickly as the eye can take in
information.
Lasting Impressions
The researchers also believe that these quickly formed first impressions
last. If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality
will spread to other areas, such as the website's content.
Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that
made a good first impression, as this will further confirm that their
initial decision was a good one.
As websites increasingly jostle for business, Dr Lindgaard added that
companies should take note.
"Unless the first impression is favourable,
visitors will be out of your site before they even know that you might be
offering more than your competitors," she warned.
© Spiral Web Design Limited
March 2007
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