If you don’t grab your visitors’ attention in 10 seconds, you’re toast.

Plain and simple.

Research recently released by Microsoft Research indicates that 10 seconds is the magic number during which visitors form an opinion about your site, and decide whether it’s worth staying to read more or not. (visit Jakob Nielsen’s blog for more details)

10 seconds is not a lot of time. What can you do to optimize your site’s performance in that short of a span?

1. Attractive, professional design
Nothing goes so far in creating a good impression as a well-designed appearance. If a site lacks visual appeal, visitors will assume – right or wrong – that the content lacks merit, and they will move on.

2. Establish a clear value proposition
Having created a good first impression with your design, you next need to present a compelling case for why the visitor should be interested in your site. What is the perceived value of what you offer? Be up front and direct.

3. Create your landing page so visitors can quickly scan your content
No matter how eloquently you write, the majority of visitors to your site will only read about one quarter of the content on any given page. This means you need to make strategic use of formatting styles to present a summary of your message. Do this by using headings, bold text, etc.

There’s a lot to consider when building a Web page, be it just a landing page or an entire site. At MWD Web, we make the process a lot simpler for you. Contact us today and get on the path to internet success.

Image courtesy of Toshiyuki IMAI