50 milliseconds For First Impressions?- A Review

Effective Webdesign Principles You Should Learn and Know

Failing to grab attention is your fault, not the users’ lack of interest.

CXL Institute – Lesson in First Impressions

When I started out learning about digital psychology and persuasion, I had no clue what it was I was getting schooled in. Man, I am so glad I am learning this stuff.

I used to think that putting up a website was all about fancy look and feel. I now know better. I am getting fully switched on. Today, with what I continue to learn I am truly grateful for the insight I am getting from the CXL Institute.

But before I get deeper into this topic, there’s an interesting aspect which I would like to let you in. Ok. I mean,

Let’s Talk Some Love and Trust

This week I bumped into a hormone. I mean the hormone of love. It’s called Oxytocin. Did you know about it? That’s the one responsible for building trust in relationships. OK. I know. You are thinking, ‘what’s it got to do with your content and website?’

No Oxytocin, No Love. No Love, No Trust. Period. So I have learned in the first impressions lesson that I must have these if I am going to succeed online. Besides even if it’s not direct love at least your website must bring out the trust factor.

It’s all about forming a foundation of trust (and love). Remember that this is a course in psychology and persuasion. Go read my first CXL post commencing my digital skills journey if you haven’t read it yet.

Website design and attraction is about getting people visiting your site to trust you. It’s about ‘to trust or not to trust’. You need some oxytocin my friend. But how are you going to be trusted? By what you put out there. Remember that your visitors hear you before they meet you.

Let’s look at some first impressions. The ones you need to put up on your website in order to be loved and trusted. If you are in my age group you may remember the song, “the first cut is the deepest”, which was done in the late 80’s. The title of the song and the lyrics sent people into love dens!

So, first impressions. Check the title of this post. 50 milliseconds. That’s about all your visitor has to make an opinion of what it is you’re offering. Just 50 millis!

When a visitor lands on your page for the very first time, they take a quick scan of your website. The old brain is busy. It has to make a decision. Worthwhile or not worthwhile? Can be trusted or not trusted? This is happening in milliseconds real-time. In the meantime your visitor’s finger is resting on the back arrow, ready to bounce off your site.

So what must you do to keep the visitor interested in your digital real estate? From the skills I have learned in this lesson, here are some principles you need to engage.

You need to embrace these four factors

In building your website my CXL Institute instructors recommend that you use these first impression factors on every page of your website. This is because the visitors are coming to you from random places. They can land on any of your pages and not necessarily starting with your home page.

So, let’s get started:

Visual design:

No surprises here, right? Some researchers have discovered that the look and feel of the website contributes extensively to the attraction and trust of your website. What is in the design then? Mostly the following:

• complex, busy layout,
• lack of navigation aids,
• boring web design especially use of color,
• pop up adverts, slow introductions to site,
• small print,
• too much text,
• corporate look and feel,
• poor search facilities).

There’s more. But for now just analyze the above list. You must know how to use these variables correctly in order to build a successful and trusted website. If you don’t know how these will affect conversion of the traffic to your website, then you need help. It is available at the CXL Institute.

Poor interface design will also not convert your visitors into buyers.

Your Value Proposition

Hey, this ain’t your fancy tagline. That’s what I thought until I got wizened.

In a sentence or two you must tell your visitor, who you are; what you are on about. Why your visitor must love you instead of your competitor next door? Is there such a thing as next door in cyber-land? Oh well whatever!

Most likely your value proposition will add to the first impression influence. So give this some serious thought if you want to win trust. Here’s an excerpt from the lesson about a good value proposition. Let me teach you:

What makes a really good value proposition?

• Clarity. The message could not possibly be misinterpreted.
• It communicates the concrete results a customer will get from purchasing and using your products and/or services.
• It says how it’s different or better than the competitor’s offer.
• It avoids hype (like ‘never seen before amazing miracle product’), superlatives (‘best’) and business jargon (‘value-added interactions’).
• It can be read and understood in about 5 seconds.

Now you are schooled. Go for it!

Compelling Images and Graphics

This is part of visual design I mentioned earlier. Just because you fancy that image does not qualify it to be on that page. Think carefully before you copy and paste. Remember the website is not about what you like, (I actually thought like that before). It’s about you creating value for your visitor so that they can love and trust you again.

This article is so much about love and trust. Has someone fallen in love with me? Kidding!

Here’s some good advice from the CXL Instructors about compelling images and graphics:

“The following recommendations should be applied when deciding which images to use on your own site in order to maximize first impressions:

• All images and graphics should complement the nature of your product. If you’re selling to an older audience, photos of teenagers on your site will be downright confusing.
• When using images of people, they should be smiling. If the person is next to copy, they should be looking towards it. This is a natural visual cue that directs users’ eyes towards the copy.
• Don’t go overboard. The goal is for visitors to see what’s essential and nothing more. Anything other than those essentials is a distraction. If you’re having trouble deciding whether or not to include some graphic, chances are you shouldn’t.
• Go for professional pictures. Whether product photos, background images, or some other type of graphic, don’t settle for a low-quality image. They scream “don’t trust me”.

So there you have it. Direct from the horse’s mouth at cxl.com

A Personal Touch

Yes it must be seen. A personal touch that is oozing with trustworthiness. You need it. Understand that you are dealing with people and not bots. They want to see your humaneness in the website being visited. You have the opportunity to impress. It’s about First Impressions, right?.

So your personal touch must have the following:

• Simple, common language. Love and Trust should not be complicated. It’s straight forward.
• Avoid cheesy stock photos – Be careful with those images.
• Use photos of realistic-looking people. Where possible use your own photos. It’s not that hard to take photos nowadays.

Alright then, that’s it. Those are some of the few principles I have learnt this week. I am glad that I now understand what I must focus on when looking at my customers’ websites and content.

And as for you, I am hoping and praying that you are absorbing this material to the benefit of your business. If you need to talk with me about how I can work with you please by all means, let’s talk.

If you would like to get skilled or you have a team in your business that you would like trained. Checkout this page.