Users judge websites in less than blink of an eye

Aesthetic judgements very fast, personal taste plays role

[docbird]

Internet users can give Web sites a thumbs up or thumbs down in less than the blink of an eye, according to a study by Canadian researchers.

In just a brief one-twentieth of a second -- less than half the time it takes to blink -- people make aesthetic judgments that influence the rest of their experience with an Internet site.

[today.reuters.com...]

[balam]

> a brief one-twentieth of a second

As opposed to those long, dragged-out one-twentieths... ;)

Personally, I need more than 50 milliseconds - I'm getting old - but not much more. I'm not surprised that there wasn't a common turn-off factor, given that bad websites are a-dime-a-dozen, and the reasons why they are, exponentially so.

What probably turns me off fastest is the colour scheme, especially if you don't have text that highly contrasts with the background colour. If I meet one of those "designers" that thinks blue text on black is a good idea in a dark alley...