Everyone knows, “you only get one chance to make a first impression,” and while that mostly applies for face-to-face interactions, what about your professional website that represents your business? When it comes to first impressions, people are just as likely to make a snap judgment about your website as they are about who you are as a person when meeting you face-to-face, and it can take as little as a 1/10th of a second for them to make up their mind.
Why the First Impression of Your Website Matters
There have been countless studies on how much a website visitor’s first impression of a website actually matters, including by Google itself. And the results certainly aren’t surprising – it takes mere milliseconds from the first click to a professional website for a potential client or customer to judge things like credibility, trustworthiness, professionalism, appeal, style, and more that could ultimately decide if they want to do business with you. Think of your perspective as a consumer if you were to walk into a storefront, how long does it take you to judge the place and the employees working? Chances are you were judging before you even stepped foot inside, based on the curb appeal alone. But once inside, whether you realize it or not, you’re taking note of whether the shop is clean, visually appealing, and organized with clear signage. Did employees greet you quickly and kindly and offer to help? Are the employees a good representation of your brand when it comes to their appearance and demeanor?
Whether it’s an ecommerce site or not, you must think of your professional website as your digital storefront, and as the most powerful marketing tool your business can invest in. When a visitor clicks to your site, within a split second, they are taking in color choice, layout, accessibility, and ease of navigation. Beyond needing to be visually appealing via its design, the “back end” parts of your website matter too, such as load times and responsiveness, all of which can affect SEO analytics like your bounce rate and how much search engines like Google will reward it with a top spot on the search engine results pages.
Here are a few 2022 stats on website design we rounded up to highlight how much that first impression matters.
- 94% of the first impressions of a website are based on design and visuals.
- 88% of website users will not return to a page if they have a terrible experience.
- 47% of users will leave a website if it takes over 2 seconds to load.
- 38% of users will not engage with a website if they find the layout unattractive.
- Nearly 50% of website visitors believe design is the top factor in a website’s credibility.
Here are 5 Tips to Ensure Your Website Makes an Impactfi First Impression:
Fine Tune Your Value Proposition
Your “value proposition” is that big, bold statement that heads your home page that tells the world what you do and why anyone should care.
What’s the number one reason your potential consumers need you and your business?
Anyone and everyone should be able to answer that question in mere seconds when they click to your site. Your value proposition should be at the top of the home page, and should be short and sweet – just a couple sentences to grab the visitor’s attention and succinctly describe what you do and why people need you.
Direct Their Eyes
Web design can be an intricate process, and there has to be some strategy in the layout of your site. Is it obvious to your site’s visitors where they should look and what they should do? The overall imagery, design, and text should direct users to an obvious call-to-action is essential to converting leads. Think of a physical store’s layout and the time and consideration that goes into the flow of a store and product placement. Your website should be given the same consideration, whether you’re actually selling products from your site or not. And while your overall design is likely to incorporate your brand’s colors, consider using a “pop of color” for your call-to-action, because if you just use your company’s regular branding colors, it may get lost in the shuffle.
Use an Introductory Video
Since you truly only have seconds to make that impactful first impression, an introductory video can be a highly effective way to get visitors the information they need to know quickly. With an introductory video no more than a couple minutes in length, you can summarize your business, services, and products in an engaging way. According to TMG Custom Media, “60% of respondents said they would watch videos prior to reading text on the same webpage, and 22% said they generally liked watching videos more than browsing text for examining business information.”
Optimize for Mobile
Websites have to be responsive on any device they’re accessed from, whether it’s a desktop, tablet, or mobile device. Websites that take more than 5 seconds to load have a 70% lower mobile session rate than those that load in under five seconds. And, according to Google, a one-second delay can mean a 20% drop in conversion!
Hire a Professional
With anything, it’s always a good idea to know when to call in the professionals. A professional web designer, like our team, can guide you through the design of your website, or the overhaul of an existing site. Beyond just ensuring your website is aesthetically pleasing to visitors from the very first click, a professional has the expertise necessary to guarantee fast load times and a user-friendly experience so visitors stick around which will ultimately lead to more conversions.
The bottom line is that your company’s website should leave a brilliant first impression on every visitor. One of our favorite parts about what we do is customizing each website build for each client, and we’d love to have a conversation with you about your vision for your company’s website. We invite you to read more about our website design services, and be sure to check out some of our favorite projects. When you’re ready learn more about how Inception Web Design could help, contact us for a free 30 minute consultation.
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