The 5 Second Rule of Web Design

As a website design agency, we have a rule called the “5 second rule.” This rule describes the amount of time that a visitor will be on your website before they decide if they want to stay and check out your business some more. This usually happens within the first five seconds. Meaning, visitors will stay on your website for five seconds more or less. In those first five seconds, the only thing they can really engage with is your hero section which is the strip on your website that is up front and center at the top of your home page.

As your website design agency, we make sure that we nail your hero section both from a copy and design and development standpoint. As your website design agency, it’s our job to make sure your hero section tells your visitors who you are, what you do, and why you do it in less than 5 seconds.

As your website design agency, we see your website’s content and copy in terms of storytelling as an important part of your website but your visitors will only read it if your hero section is perfect. From a website design perspective, roughly 70% of your visitor’s first impression is going to be based on your visuals. So, in other words, when your visitors make a judgement, 70% of that judgment is based on how your website looks.

So as your website design agency, we stress the importance of a well written and well designed website. It needs to be fresh looking. It needs to be clean, simple, and easy for your visitors to engage with. That way, when your visitors do make that first impression, they have all the good information to make their judgement and they’re not getting turned off by an ugly or outdated design.