What is it that attracts you? Is it stunning visuals, well written content, the community, or even the familiarity of a website.
It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on this - especially if you mention the Category of website you are referring to. (eg. photography, forum, web design, gaming, etc).
Iām assuming your question means āwhat attracts you to use a site?ā, rather than āwhich aspect of a site makes the first impression?ā. (I apologise if Iāve got that wrong.)
For me, itās clear layout and easy navigation. Iām not bothered if the site looks old-fashioned, or the colour scheme is hideous (provided that doesnāt impinge on usability) - I just want a site which lets me find the information or product I want, or carry out the task I need to complete, with the minimum of hassle.
I donāt care for pretty visuals or effects or sites that take an age to load, I just want the information Iām looking for and be able to find it if Iām not using a direct link. Also sites that overdo advertising is a big turn off if Iām using a device that doesnāt have content blocking capabilities.
I like a site that is well-organized and uncluttered. I do have to admit, however, that if it looks like no effort has been made to make it visually attractive, or if the site is just ugly, it is a turn off for me, and I will likely leave before I even find out if it has content of any value. By attractive, I mean good choice of colours and some tasteful graphics. Too many ābells and whistlesā are also a turn off for me.
Websites that give you the information you need in the fewest clicks is what I like. Sites that make you browse multiple pages on purpose to generate more page views for ad purposes.
Good choice of colours and not too cluttered a layout will always appeal to me.
However, I used to buy from a business which had a large site, of somewhat old-fashioned design and with a (to me) unappealing background colour of a greeny-yellow colour. The site was a dream to use: it was easy to navigate, there were multiple ways to filter down to the required content, it loaded quickly and all the relevant information about the products was readily available.
Some months ago, they changed the site to a much more modern look, with restful shades of blue and plenty of white space - just the kind of layout I like. But it was really difficult to find anything - even products Iād bought before and knew they stocked. There was virtually no information given about any of the products, and there were frequent problems with the shopping cart.
No prizes for guessing which version I preferred. (Sadly, the site no longer exists at all, although I have no way of knowing whether the - IMHO - disastrous make-over contributed to that in any way.)
I habitually browse with JS disabled, as a defence against the numerous sites which insist on using - and often over-doing - moving images with no means of stopping them. If the site shows only a blank page, or a page telling me I must enable JS to view the site, I will leave at that point. I expect to be able to view a site without JS, even if itās missing some functionality. I donāt mind enabling JS for a site once I decide I want to use it, and if the JS is actually necessary to perform a function, although if the site then becomes unusable for me with moving content, Iāll leave and not return.
Iām attracted by the design, if the site interface is user-friendly. None at least a major fact is the content. How well written and inspriring it. I love sites where I can get the necessary information I need. The post should be short and easy to read.
It depends on what I am looking for! If I search for some information, then sure, written content will be the most important thing! I donāt like long and boring articles. Text should be written clearly and concisely! If I look for some pictures, then their quality and quantity will be preferable! But I donāt like boring websites with the text only, I like some visualization that helps to perceive information much easier!
The design is certainly the first thing I notice and most likely has the deciding vote on whether or not I stay on a siteā¦if itās too cluttered and not well laid out, I wonāt stick around to see how well-written the content is.
For me, its the organisation of the site (content organization, category organization etc), the overall look of the site and the content, the content must be good.
Hey!
It depends on where Iām viewing a certain thing.
For Instance, if Iām on a SERP, the most relevant heading will attract me.
If Iām on a webpage, the visuals would and if Iām looking for info, then a well written content would.
Good question! Those things youāve mentioned are all important aspects to attract visitors from visiting a website, but if I have to choose among the 3 I would pick well written content.
As a customer/visitor/potential client, my main objective of surfing online is to get the information I needed to acquire added knowledge or a physical product. So I look for contents that has āvalueā to me. Yeah, pictures and the siteās seamless functionality does help, but it all rolls down to how relevant and valuable is the siteās content in addressing my current needsā¦
Another thing that engages me into visiting a site is by seeing less of the conventional ad offers that only distracts my attention every time I visit. Thatās why I prefer clever ways of advertising products such as an offerwall as it helps me proceed on my agenda while getting rewards every time I participate in an offer (if I want to avail). Not like the usual banner ad where you have to click and leave the site in order for the ad to make senseā¦
Again for me it is mostly content. I want information and i want it in the most simple easy to get way. Sure itās nice if itās packaged nicely but it shouldnāt detract from the content. I guess this is why we now see āreadingā options in firefox and IE that strip away everything but the main content.
Something i find interesting is that some of the biggest sites in the world (facebook, ebay, twitter etc), when you really look at them, they look pretty pants. Take Facebook for example, if you really look at the design there isnāt much. Itās mostly blue and some text. Not even fancy text just plain. But Facebook is not about the site design itās about the content.
On the other hand if i was selling high end furniture or photography or something iād perhaps want my site to look far more designed as it will be appealing to a more visual audience.
So i guess my view is that it really depends on what you are trying to achieve and your audience.