Web Design

Realnet's Approach to Web Design

The Home Page is the critical entry point for visitors to the website.

Within a fraction of a second the visitor has to be convinced that the site is worth exploring.

The page must be visually attractive whilst the core message for your business and industry must be clearly presented.

There must be a clear and easy to understand route into the rest of the site.

Short and sharp points to inform, interest and encourage the visitor to explore further.

In particular the function of the Home Page is to establish the credibility and professionalism of your company and to assure them they are in the right place.

Your home page should not only look good, but should be focused on converting visitors into enquiries. It should let the visitor know that you offer what they are looking for and contain clear calls to action encouraging them to contact you or order from your site.

First Impressions Count

According to researchers at a Canadian university it takes one twentieth of a second for a web design to make a lasting impression on an Internet user.

50 milliseconds

Dr. Gitte Lindgaard and colleagues from Carleton University's Human-Oriented Technology Lab in Ottawa flashed websites for 50 milliseconds and asked study participants to rate them for visual appeal. The study authors later repeated the exercise for a longer viewing period with the same results.

"Visual appeal can be assessed within 50 milliseconds, suggesting that Web designers have to create a design that will make a good impression in about 50 milliseconds,"said the report, published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology.

Clearly these findings have significant competitive implications for web-based design business.

Obsession with search engine positioning is of little value if the website design does not capture the visitor in that crucial 50 milliseconds.

No point filling a homepage with copy

But 50 milliseconds gives pause for thought - no point in filling a page with copy - unless it can be read in the blink of an eye!

The experience of Realnet clients has shown that the impact of a well-designed page can be dramatic in terms of drawing visitors into the site and to the action page.

In fact the creation of an online solution needs to address all issues with the same amount of care and skill if the visitor is to complete the task the site was created for.

Take a look though our Portfolio to see how attractive web design can work hand in hand with ease of use and high search engine rankings.