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Vital first impressions

Published on: January 17, 2006 by Paul Boag

Jeffrey Veen have often implied that web developers' obsession with design is detrimental. However, a recent report featured on the BBC website seems to indicate that good design is key to the way users assess a site.

The story on the BBC website leads with:

Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye, a study shows.

It then goes on to explain that the study presented web pages to a group of users for only a 20th of a second. Users were then asked to rate the website for aesthetic appeal. Interestingly the conclusion they reached in a mere 20th of a second closely tallied with opinions of the websites that were made after much longer periods of examination.

However, what really interested me was that this first 20th of a second left a last impression. The BBC explains that:

If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website's content.

Although such a study is not without its weaknesses, it does help to demonstrate the role of design within web development. Before a user can process content or usability, it is design that helps form those vital first impressions.

Comments

Comments are for the discussion of this post. If you have other questions / comments then post them to the forum or send me an email

  • Post by Marcus on January 17, 2006 9:21 AM

    Hi Paul

    I think this is true for some users, not all. I fit into this category - nice pretty graphics and I'm hooked :) - others don't.

    There are many people out there who just don't see the fantastic design of, say, a coke can. It's just a tin that says coke on it.

    One method of giving up smoking is to wrap your 'sexy' pack of ciggies with a piece of paper and a rubber band thereby hiding all that expensive branding. And, apparently, it works for some.

    Cheers

    Marcus

  • Post by Brian on January 17, 2006 9:52 PM

    I agree. My wife is famous for this. If she doesn't like the look of a website she will quickly find another that looks better. She will buy from e-commerce sites that charge more jsut because they look good.

    I think the order of importance in my opinion is:
    #1 - aesthetic appeal
    #2 - organization
    #3 - content

    If you don't have the first two people will never find the third.

    Marcus: Don't worry about it... you have the rest of the year to find a way to quit!

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