Website design is more important than most people realize. When a person clicks to a website they don’t read it like they would a page in a book, instead they quickly scan the site to see if anything stands out as being worth reading or investigating further. This makes it of utmost importance to grab a site visitor’s attention within seconds of coming to a site.

Visitors browse through logos, images, and links quickly. They generally do not take the time to read through long sections of text. As a matter of fact, long sections of text tend to turn a visitor away from a site. People don’t have the time to get bogged down in a lot of text. Statistically, you have less than 15 seconds to convince a visitor to stay on your site, so what do you do? Here are a few tips to help you grab a visitor’s attention:

• Get to the point and put powerful content on the first page of the site. If you have something to say with your site, or something to sell with your site then put it on the first page. The point of your webpage needs to be clear right away, don’t save it for a later page; a site visitor might not stick around long enough to find it.
• If you have something that needs to be highlighted such as a discounted price, a sale, or an award that you’ve just won, then a well placed colorful box containing the announcement will help draw the visitor’s attention.
• Use a meaningful logo to help grab a visitor’s attention as well as add color and visual appeal to your site. A well designed logo will offer a good first impression of your business and when placed on every page of the site will begin to create brand recognition.
• If you have a logo on a page it should have a link to the homepage embedded in it. When searching around on a site it is easy for a visitor to click the logo and get back to the familiar homepage. Many users rely on this convenience. If they can’t easily find their way back to the homepage they might just click out of the site.
• Website navigation as well as any other user interaction areas need to remain consistent throughout the website. Navigation pay as you go website design should be located in the same location on each page. The more comfortable a visitor feels and the easier the site is to navigate, the more likely they are to stay on the site longer and go deeper into the site pages.
• Include a search box that searches within your website. Search boxes that search the web will lead visitors away from your site. You want them to stay on your site and to find what they need there.
• Only include relevant images on your homepage and test how long it takes for them to load. Slow loading images are a turnoff. Flash objects are also slow loading and typically should not be included on the homepage.
• Finally you should ask yourself these questions: How long does it take for your site to load? A site that takes too long in loading is going to lose visitors. As the page loads what is the first thing you see? How long does it take before there is text to read?

The best website designs make great impressions on a visitor within 15 seconds of them arriving to a website and convince them to stay on the site a little longer. Your website should convey the style and image of your company and should make a good impression of your business, the best website designs help to do this.