Friday, January 20, 2006

People judge web sites quickly (as if we didn't know)

I'm sure most of us in the library biz know that most people make very quick decisions in judging Web sites, but did you know how quick? Turns out, they spend one-twentieth of a second (according to CNN report of a recent study)! One twentieth! That, says CNN, is less than half the time it takes to blink. The marketing implications of this finding are substantial: How can you prove to patrons in one-twentieth of a second that your web site is a good place to be and worth at least a couple of blinks? Unfortunately, the study didn't come to definitive conclusions on what makes a good site, but clearly aesthetics an important draw for Web surfers.

1 comment:

Norma said...

I can't tell you how many times I've come across web sites for churches, libraries, museums and hospitals that don't tell you where it is--not even the city. You have to start clicking around the various confusing buttons to find out. Why do webmasters think only people who know where you are visit?

"The Mavis Jones Memorial Library" and then all the bling bling and moving parts just doesn't work for me.