Webdesign, Attention Basics-Review

Are Webdesign Visuals Important to Your Website?

How can we capture and hold attention? How capable are we of making truly rational decisions? To what extent do first impressions, visuals, and emotions affect our ability to learn information?

CXL Institute

I am still talking about first impressions. Remember the “the first cut is the deepest”? This time let’s talk about attention basics. I mean first impressions a user has when they arrive at your website. I am hoping you already have a website or you are about to ask me to help you put one up.

The question we learn about all the time is, “is it important the way you present your message on your website if nobody’s attention is attracted?” This right here is a very important statement worth exploring especially if you intend to attract a large following.

According to some experts, it’s suggested that the very first time a visitor lands at your website, they form an impression in split seconds. It’s this first impression that will determine the staying span.

To a very large extent, the combination of text and images will create this first impression on the visitor. So how are you putting together this combination? I mean how are you appealing to the user with the words and images to gain their trust and confidence to stay on.

In my recent post, 50 milliseconds For First Impressions?, I mentioned that the look and feel of the website will determine the visitor’s first impressions when they land on your website.

For instance, according to the CXL Institute training on optimization, there are four factors that influence first impressions on a website. For an e-commerce website, the first impressions are formed the very first time a visitor comes to your website.

Going By Attention Basics

According to the training by CXL Institute, one of the prerequisites to acquiring your audience’s attention is by learning about their online behavior. So, a stimulus on your website must grab attention, or else it provides zero value for your website visitor.

Visual design on your website is a key factor in providing value and creating that much-needed staying power. It absolutely contributes to the first impressions and more so if it is an e-commerce website.

It has generally been determined that websites with low complexity in design, and high in design looks for a particular category of websites, tended to be more appealing. Therefore, it’s important to design your website in a simple and easy for your visitor to be familiar with it.

For instance, most users or website visitors have a certain perception of how an e-commerce store should look like. This means that if you are putting up an e-commerce website do not depart too much from this familiar perception as this can drive away potential customers.

More Statistics I Have Learned This Week

“It takes 2.6 seconds for a visitor’s eyes to settle on key areas of a website”. Just think, 2.6 seconds and that’s it. It sounds like within two blinks of an eye! That’s all you need to do a good job of getting your website visitor to stay and tour your web presence. Phew!! That’s damn challenging I must add.

Apparently, in this 2.6-second findings, the research was conducted on students who were scanning web pages. The analysis was essentially on following the students’ eye tracking of a site’s, menu, logo, images, and social media icons before getting to look at other areas of a website.

Remember that we are still talking about attention basics as they are being taught by the experts at CXL Institute.

Side Note: If you are seriously considering upgrading your marketing and optimization skills, this is where you need to start. Whether it be just for yourself or you may have a team to upskill, please consider CXL.

Six Website Sections That Drew The Most Interest From Viewers

Now, continuing with the 2.6-second study, this is what CXL has come up with. There are six essential website sections that drove this research.

According to this excerpt from the CXL report, the six website sections that drew the most interest from viewers were:

1. The institution’s logo. Users spent 6.48 seconds focused on this area before moving on.
2. The main navigation menu. Almost as popular as the logo, subjects spent an average of 6.44 seconds viewing the menu.
3. The search box. Users focused for just over 6 seconds.
4. The site’s main image. Users’ eyes fixated for an average of 5.94 seconds.
5. The site’s written content. Users spent about 5.59 seconds.
6. The bottom of a website. Users spent about 5.25 seconds.

The Key Takeaway: A good first impression leads to a longer visit. Make sure the six elements listed here look great.

Most Website First Impressions Are 94% Design Driven

Here’s something else I have come to learn from the CXL Minidegree course on psychology and persuasion. It’s crucial how you present your website to your visitors who are your prospects.

If you are not doing it right you are missing the mark. The mark is conversion. And conversion is a product of optimization. Optimization is within the design mix. Sounds like a paradox? I know. Just hang in there. You will soon get the hang of it.

According to most website critiques (this is according to a report in Britain), the look and feel of a website’s design and not the content informed their opinions.

In this report, 94% of the participants’ feedback in this report, was based on the design as follows:

• Complex;
• Busy layout;
• Lack of navigation aids;
• Boring web design;
• Use of color;
• Pop-up adverts;
• Slow introductions to the site;
• Small print;
• Too much text;
• Corporate look and feel;
• Poor search capabilities.

Only 6% of the feedback was about the actual content. Visual appeal and website navigation had the biggest influence on people’s first impressions of the site.

At the same time, the poor interface design was associated with rapid rejection and mistrust of a website. When participants did not like an aspect of the design, the whole website was rarely explored beyond the homepage.

The above is an excerpt from the CXL Institute.

Now then, with so much emphasis on website visuals, how ought you to present your digital real estate? Prior to my getting schooled at CXL, (as I am continuing to be tutored), I took a website presentation for granted. Now I know better. The folks are doing a great job with the training they are offering.

I can confidently say that the courses are high grade and college level. My eyes have been so opened to a new way of business thinking. As I get settled in my business of helping my fellow small to mid-size business owners in web design, and web content, I know I can continue to connect with CXL for up-skill. After all, I have learned that learning is never-ending.

In conclusion, the course this week in “Attention Basics”, has been very challenging but uplifting.

Again, if you’ve been planning on deploying more resources and tools to strategically improve or grow your business I recommend you check out CXL Institute. Whether this is for your small team in your business or simply for you. The courses are worthwhile, as I have come to experience. Go for it!