{"id":4250199,"date":"2015-09-29T14:33:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-29T14:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/the-importance-of-homepage-design-first-impressions\/"},"modified":"2015-09-29T14:33:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-29T14:33:00","slug":"the-importance-of-homepage-design-first-impressions","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-nl\/insight\/the-importance-of-homepage-design-first-impressions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of homepage design: first impressions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBack to all articles\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/button>\n\t\tThe Importance of homepage design: first impressions\t<\/h1>
\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t
\n\t\tJonathan Whiteside\t\t
\n\t\tGlobal EVP Technology\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tDate\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t29 September 2015\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\tAs both users of a lot of websites and designers and builders of hundreds too, we thought we\u2019d share some of our top tips when it comes to designing a homepage. This is the first of three blogs which will focus on the dos and don\u2019ts of designing a homepage including, first impressions, layout, navigation, content, colour usage and imagery.\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tThe halo effect\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tImagine the following scenario\u2026

Two candidates turn up for an interview; Candidate A is standing, smartly dressed and well presented, whilst Candidate B is slouching on a sofa, wearing an un-ironed shirt and ripped jeans.<\/em>

At first glance, you may make an assumption that the former is more likely to impress in the interview. Based solely on this initial impression, you may become more receptive and fond of the first candidate; this is a psychological phenomenon known as the\u00a0Halo Effect<\/a>.

We can apply this same principle to homepages. A recent study undertaken by the\u00a0
Missouri University of Science and Technology<\/a>\u00a0discovered that it takes less than two-tenths of a second\u00a0for users to form their first impressions of your site.

That\u2019s right, it can take just 200 milliseconds to win or lose a potential customer.
\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t5 Second test\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tTo get a feel for how users first perceive your website, you can use the \u2018five-second test\u2019, which was first pioneered by Christine Perfetti at User Interface Engineering.

To run a five-second test, simply gather some participants to take part in the study and show them your homepage. At the same time, start a countdown timer to sound an alarm in 5 seconds time.

Once the timer sounds, cover up the homepage and question your participants on their experience. You can use this opportunity to ask them:\t<\/p>\n\n