Can people spot “cheesy” and unprofessional sites consistently? They absolutely can – very quickly!
In 2005, research led by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada suggests that people make up their minds in 1/20th of a second (the judgments were being formed almost as quickly as the eye can take in information). And this first impression of the aesthetic quality influences all subsequent judgments visitors have about a site.
You can’t “fake out” this automatic ability of the brain to form accurate visual impressions. So make your site or landing page better or suffer the low-conversion consequences.
Fortunately, tools like the AttentionWizard simulated visual attention tool help to instantly predict where people’s attention will be focused during the critical first few seconds on a web page. This knowledge can help you to design better landing pages that will pass the smell test.
