Comments on: Web Users Judge Sites Instantly

By: spectorbrain.com » Blog Archive » The Unknown Blogger and First Impressions

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:22:50 +0000

[...] I know that this is an oversimplified list, but it makes the necessary points. Before you design a blog or quickly grab an available template, think about whom you are and who you want your audience to be. Remember that people judge websites almost instantly upon initial viewing. In the case of blogs, that decision will influence how your readers speak to you or if they want to speak to you at all. Tags: usability, first impression, blog, design, content, author, comments [...]

By: Jesper Rønn-Jensen

Jesper Rønn-Jensen — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 20:28:57 +0000

Just a quick roundup, as this story continues to get attention around the web.
http://www.guuui.com/posting.php?id=1730
http://articles.milui.com/index.php?p=79

http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/01/18/snap-decisions-on-the-web/

From what I can tell, the researchers didn’t find any actual evidence that users will leave a site after 50 milliseconds if they find a site visually unappealing. The problem with Lindgaard’s conclusions is that the research didn’t study how users behave when they’re trying to accomplish their tasks.

For example, CraigsList is a site that has tested very well with our users. Users loved the site. Why? Not because the site was visually appealing. CraigsList succeeded because the content surpassed their users’ expectations. The site makes its users happy despite what some might consider poor aesthetics. And none of the users left the site because of a “bad design.”

In all of our research studying user behavior, we see that visual aesthetics play a role in users’ judgments — but they take a backseat to the site’s content.

While we’re at it, today Bokardo published a post about visually appealing websites “On Visual Appeal”
http://bokardo.com/archives/on-visual-appeal/

By: Jesper Rønn-Jensen

Jesper Rønn-Jensen — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 21:48:56 +0000

As I read the article, the ultra fast first impressions regard only “visual appeal”. There’s no clue here as of this will last to find information, or do stuff (solve tasks) on a given website.

Being visually appealing is also known to make a difference in dating (especially — I presume — when boy meets girl). A good first impression is probably always “visually appealing”.

A pleasing visual appeal will create more tolerant users.

Great article that really gives me something to think about.