From the “this is obvious but it is nice to see backing research” file, A List Apart has posted a fantastic article highlighting how a viewer’s perception of a Web site is established within 50 milliseconds. This initial perception heavily influences the confidence, trust and usability that visitor will have regarding the product or services offered.

An excerpt from the article states:

Research confirms that users make aesthetic decisions about the overall visual impression of web pages in as little as 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second). These instant visceral reactions to web pages happen in virtually all users, are consistent over visit length, and strongly influence the user’s sense of trust in the information. In short, users have made fundamental, consistent, and lasting aesthetic decisions about the credibility and authority of sites before major eyetracking events begin.

Read the full article:

Visual Decision Making