Good web design does make an instant difference
Written 16.01.06 by: Jonathan Briggs
BBC News reports a study that first impressions count for web. The Canadian research quoted suggested that web users make up their minds about the quality of a site or ecommerce store within a 20th of a second.
Dr Lindgaard who conducted the research said "As websites increasingly jostle for business, 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,".
The research does seem to confirm the disappointment that we all get looking at cheap templated sites or where the design has been homogenised by a committee.
At the OTHER media we always encourage companies to spend longer than they expect on the design of their sites and to refresh the look regularly. Design must be very individual for each site and adapt the offline personality of the brand to the special characteristics of the web.
The use of animation is a controversial aspect of many brand's home pages and was not covered in the reported research. We prefer to take the client straight to the front page although of course it must be beautifully designed. If the researchers are right a slow animated intro may not convince the visitor who is already on their way to another site. Of course there are ways of including rich media that leaves a lasting effect but it needs to be subtle and appropriate.
If you would like us to make your online store or website more memorable, then get in touch.