What makes an impact when you visit a website?

DarkShadow · 14 Apr 2008 at 23:16

Just a simple question really, when you visit a website what makes you think "woah, I like that . . . "

I'm just knocking together a few ideas, I realise this is purely subjective but that's the point of the thread. Go for it

Inquisitor · 14 Apr 2008 at 23:42

Difficult to say really, but probably all of the following in combination:

Good use of complementary colours
Good structure and layout
The general 'cleanness' of the design; appropriate (not over-) use of borders, images, etc.

lsg1r · 14 Apr 2008 at 23:56

I think it would be easier to list what people don't like

basically for me I like a site that doesn't have too much flash, ads or other junk posted everywhere. No need to download the latest plugins (unless needed) or 'allow' a pop up etc
Easy access with the choice to do things in the way I want to be able to do it.

RobH · 14 Apr 2008 at 23:59

Clear navigation with a breadcrumb trail to tell me where I am if necessary.

Wizardskills · 15 Apr 2008 at 00:35

For me the very first thing a web site has to show me is what it is about. If i can tell this in the first 10 seconds then the web site may be of use to me so i will investigate further. Next it has to look acceptable and in tune with the information that it is offering. Thirdly it has to have good navigation cause if i cant find my way round the site,I'm not going to use it. Fourthly and probably most importantly is the content itself . Get this right and people will keep coming back for more. If all of these are met then you have a good foundation to making a informative, well balanced site.

yhack · 15 Apr 2008 at 00:40

It must load fast and look really nice.

You could test out what works with stumbleupon, because stumblers tend to only spend a few seconds on the site before clicking stumble again, so it has to look really good for them to stay.