{"id":744,"date":"2015-10-21T12:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/?p=744"},"modified":"2015-10-21T12:00:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T18:00:09","slug":"the-ten-second-elevator-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/ideas\/the-ten-second-elevator-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ten Second Elevator Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Typically most people leave a website within 10 to 20 seconds (<em>over half leave in under 15 seconds<\/em>) and that leaves very little time to make that first impression.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/impression.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-745\" src=\"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/impression-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"First Impression\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/impression-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/impression-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/impression-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/impression.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Websites effectively have ten seconds to either cause a visitor to leave the site, or invite them to continue on to other pages.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0website is an\u00a0organization&#8217;s virtual reception area, and their\u00a0introduction and greeting to every\u00a0visitor.<\/p>\n<p>Most visitors to any\u00a0website are\u00a0either familiar with the\u00a0organization and returning, or they have followed the website\u00a0link included in their search results. \u00a0In either case they are already thinking along the lines of what that\u00a0organization does and\u00a0offers. \u00a0The next ten seconds are crucial.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A\u00a0website is an\u00a0organization&#8217;s virtual reception area, and their\u00a0introduction and greeting to every\u00a0visitor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In our experiences we find quick attendance and direction are core elements to a website&#8217;s front page, followed closely by simplicity.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A front page should\u00a0greet visitors.<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8220;Hello. \u00a0This is who we are. \u00a0Please come in.&#8221;. \u00a0This allows the visitor to feel comfortable and attended. \u00a0Too much information spread across the screen in sidebars and banners is too busy and the equivalent of, &#8220;Take a seat. \u00a0We&#8217;ll get to you in a bit.&#8221;. \u00a0Visitors who experience a sense of welcome and value are the ones who tend to remain longer and continue further.<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>A front page should be\u00a0orderly.<\/strong><br \/>\nThe reception\u00a0a visitor receives is enhanced by the offer of assistance. \u00a0&#8220;Who are you wishing to see?&#8221;, &#8220;What services are you interested in?&#8221;, &#8220;To your left we have\u00a0services that include &#8230; and to your right we have support personnel to assist with &#8230;. \u00a0Please feel free to look around. \u00a0We are available for\u00a0any questions and requests.&#8221; \u00a0A simple, easily discernible navigation\u00a0menu\u00a0and\u00a0a contact link or button empowers visitors, and reinforces their sense of attendance. \u00a0That confidence and value encourages their visit to continue.<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>A front page should contain no surprises.<\/strong><br \/>\nA visitor, once greeted and invited to investigate further, should be able to proceed without interruption. \u00a0Even when they choose to leave there should be no obstruction or delay to their decisions. \u00a0A receptionist who grabs a visitor by the arm, or\u00a0organization representatives who step out suddenly from doorways, and require some form of visitor response or action in order to continue is the unexpected pop-up window that tears down visitor empowerment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>A word on pop up windows<\/em>:<\/strong><br \/>\nThere are arguments on both sides of the issue of using or not using them on a website. \u00a0The arguments for using them include generating leads that would likely go undiscovered\u00a0otherwise, but our opinion and experience is their undermining of visitor confidence is enough reason to not use them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>quick attendance and direction are core elements to a website&#8217;s front page, followed closely by simplicity<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A front page should be built for visitors.<\/strong><br \/>\nAn organization that knows who they are and what they do are able to attend with relevance to their visitors. \u00a0Simplicity is key. \u00a0A website heavy in graphics and animation can be perceived as gaudy and interpreted as an organization going to great lengths to explain\u00a0who they\u00a0are rather than just being who they are. \u00a0Visitors who feel confident in the capabilities of the organization stay longer and investigate further.<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>A front page should be available.<\/strong><br \/>\nOn the internet are millions of websites and billions of visitors &#8211; it&#8217;s a busy place. \u00a0Technical glitches happen and at times a website can experience downtime. \u00a0This is the equivalent &#8220;Back in 15 minutes&#8221; sign on the door. \u00a0Site visitors are already\u00a0thinking along the lines of what an organization offers and are probable to return, but if the reception is closed\u00a0frequently and the sign is untrustworthy or absent, they will lose confidence and move on elsewhere. \u00a0Stability is every bit as important as design.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>A final thought:<\/strong><br \/>\nA website is a service to others. \u00a0When it is built for others, others\u00a0will talk about it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>An organization that knows who they are and what they do are able to attend with relevance to their visitors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Typically most people leave a website within 10 to 20 seconds (over half leave in under 15 seconds) and that leaves very little time to make that first impression. Websites effectively have ten seconds to either cause a visitor to leave the site, or invite them to continue on to other pages. A\u00a0website is an\u00a0organization&#8217;s &#8230; <a title=\"The Ten Second Elevator Speech\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/ideas\/the-ten-second-elevator-speech\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Ten Second Elevator Speech\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[25,26,40,41,27,37,10,42,43,44],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ideas","tag-business","tag-consumer-respect","tag-design","tag-front-page","tag-full-service","tag-knowledge","tag-proven","tag-reception","tag-representative","tag-visitors"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usertutor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}