Viral Marketing Riches – 2nd Edition
Success Factor #5: Make It Look Good
Web users form first impressions of web pages in as little as 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second). In the blink of an eye, web surfers make nearly instantaneous judgments of a web site's "visual appeal." Through the "halo effect" first impressions can color subsequent judgments of perceived credibility, usability, and ultimately influence purchasing decisions. Creating a fast-loading, visually appealing site can help websites succeed. The speed at which users form value judgments of web pages precludes much cognitive thought. This pre-cognitive "affective reaction" is a physiological response to what they see on the screen - a gut reaction. This carry-over of first impressions to other attributes of products is sometimes called the "halo effect," or cognitive "confirmation bias" where users search for confirming evidence and ignore evidence contrary to their initial impression. People want to be right, and tend to look for clues that validate their initial hypothesis. There clearly is a connection between our emotional reaction to a webpage, and our conscious thought process.
Viral Marketing Riches 2nd Edition
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