Technology Futures

First impressions count on the Web

Submitted by acohill on Tue, 01/17/2006 - 08:50.

I still see too many community organizations taking their Web sites for granted. It's not uncommon to find community and economic development Web sites that are badly out of date, with stale information, poorly designed graphics, and/or hard to find content. A new study shows that people form a first impression of a Web site in as little as 50 milliseconds. Researchers previously thought that it would take at least a half second to do that.

The Web encourages a short attention span, so your Web site has to look as good as you can make it. Your Web site is selling your town, your businesses, your group, or your local government. What story is it telling to visitors?