Attention is our most valuable currency today, as businesses compete online over eyeballs. However, with customer attention spans getting shorter, the initial impression upon landing on your online platform is the most powerful. It’s in that exact second that a potential customer decides whether they are interested.
The psychology of instant judgment
Instant judgment is not new – human brains have always been wired for quick assessment. We do this in real life, when we meet a new person or walk past a shop window. While the initial impression is often proven incorrect, in business it could mean a lost sale.
Online, the instant judgment is about the initial experience and a user’s perception of the entire platform within the first glance. The subconscious processes the visual appeal and professionalism of the site almost instantaneously, before the conscious thought has a chance to form. This can impact whether the user feels a site to be competent, trustworthy, reliable and, most importantly, worth their time.
Loading speed
Website loading speed is absolutely paramount for first impressions. Even slight delays can have huge consequences for sites. In fact, a study by Google has shown that a whopping 53% of visitors will leave the site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Yes, it’s tough out there.
In turn, search engines tend to penalise slow-loading platforms by pushing them down in search results. All of this has direct impacts on your conversion rates, with fewer visitors and, therefore, fewer sales.
So, if your site is feeling sluggish, address it immediately. Sometimes the issue lies in smaller things like large images (e.g. banners) that take a while to load. Simply compressing them can solve this. However, if the whole site is slow, it may be a web hosting issue. In this scenario, you may upgrade to IONOS, who offer a variety of plans based on your storage space needs.
Design and navigation
If speed is not a problem, yet users bounce from your site immediately, then the issue is most likely in the design. Try to look at your site with “new” eyes – from the moment you enter, how does your site make you feel? Are users met with chaos (cluttered information and unprofessional or outdated design) or an aesthetically pleasing and accessible design?
The navigational friction is another major culprit. Sites need to have an intuitive structure with a clear menu, making it easy to navigate. Meaning, the customer should be able to immediately grasp how to find relevant information or complete a task. For instance, if they want to learn more about your story, they will expect to see an “About us” page in your website menu.
When a website fails to create a clear and trustworthy image from the get-go, users immediately question its credibility, going to a competitor instead. Even worse, the lack of intuitiveness can make them frustrated, creating negative associations with your business.
Winning the first second
There is so much more to designing and managing a website than what you see in the first second. However, if you win those initial impressions, you will win the customer’s attention and willingness to stay.