When entertaining new investors, first impressions are everything—even if investors first meet your brand online. People make split-second judgements regarding your value when they visit your IR website.
How Long Does it Take to Form a Virtual Opinion?
The count on the stopwatch depends on who you ask.
According to a study conducted by the Missouri University of Science and Technology, you have a fleeting two-tenths of a second (0.2 seconds) to impress digital visitors.
If that wasn’t fast enough, researchers at Carleton University in 2011 believe you have just 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) to make a good first impression.
In either scenario, website visitors form opinions about your homepage faster than the usual seven seconds it takes people to form an in-person impression.
How Can You Make Sure You Impress Your Visitors That Quickly?
When digital first impressions happen in a split second, passing muster comes down to the first they’ll see: your homepage. More specifically, its UI design. Short for User Interface, UI refers to the aesthetics of your website.
While your visitors may not be able to read your tagline or review financials in 0.50 seconds, they will notice obvious UI design choices like layout, font, and colour.
The IR professionals at Q4 consulting firm understand these UI design elements aren’t always easy to identify, which is why they made their award-winning website designs available as templates for IPOs, SPACs, and established public companies.
IR websites from Q4 marry your individual brand with these design best practices, customizing a beautiful and functional website that reflects your company perfectly.
Good design is important, not just from a first impression standpoint. Three-quarters of consumers judge a company’s credibility based on its website design.
How to Make Sure Your Visitors Remain on Your Website?
While good UI design is paramount to acing the first impression, it doesn’t replace purposeful content that satisfies your visitors’ needs. After all, investors will visit your page to learn something about your brand. Maybe it’s your story, your ESG initiatives, or very specific financial info.
Whatever it is that they want to learn, they expect to find it — or at least the button that will direct them towards this information — in 20 seconds or less. Otherwise, they might give up on your brand.
This time constraint is another test for IROs and website designers, as good UI must be supported by strong, functional site architecture. Intuitive navigation makes it easy for investors to find need-to-know information — in browser and mobile – within 20seconds.
Getting there isn’t enough. You need to make sure you deliver key content that tells your story and drives your value. If you aren’t sure how to deliver this information in an effective way, get in touch with an IR consultant for guidance. These professionals understand how to share your IR narrative while disclosing your key financials according to compliance.
Make a Good First Digital Impression
A visitor can form an opinion that changes how they interact with your branding as little as 0.05 seconds. To make sure you pass this split-second test, get in touch with an IR site design specialist.
