A study has shown that users judge sites within the first twentieth of a second and that their decision has a lasting impact.
The lasting effect of first impressions is known to psychologists as the "halo effect". If you can snare people with an attractive design, they are more likely to rate the site more favourably. According to the researcher Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa, this is because of "cognitive bias". People enjoy being right, so continuing to use a website that gave a good first impression helps to prove to them that they made a good initial decision.
The study is published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology vol. 25.
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Henrik Olsen
- January 18, 2006
See also: Research (128) Credibility, Trust and Privacy (6) Visual design (19)
