The 30 Second Rule
There are many website design consideration to think about when making a new website or optimizing an existing site. Before we jump into the 30 Second Rule, let’s make sure you are ready for that next step.
Do you:
- Have a great website? Yes! (No? Oh, well let us help!)
- Have people visiting your website? Yes!!
- Passed the 5 Second Test? YES!!
Well, ok then! Check, check, and CHECK! You are ready to learn about the 30 Second Rule.
The Next Barrier: Can you last 30 Seconds?
The next barrier to overcome is getting visitors to stick around for 30 Seconds. If you can keep visitors on your site for 30 seconds, then your chance of conversion goes WAAAYYY up. Chances are that your visitor has actually read and retained something that came from your website. That is GREAT news!
There are a few ways to do this….We can have videos. We can have text. We can have photos. But the website design consideration to focus on is….. it all needs to happen on the homepage.
We have had a lot of clients in the past, and maybe even websites that we have designed in the past, that have really short homepages. Homepages where you have to click a link and go to another page. That is a thing of the past. People’s attentions get lost when you have to start clicking around to find information right off the bat.
The Scroll
The scroll is a new, important website design consideration. There are a lot of people sitting on their cell phones or sitting at their computers that just want to scroll down for more. If you think about Instagram or Facebook, you just scroll down, scroll down, keep scrolling down. We should have at least that first 30 seconds populate on the homepage.
If we get somebody on our site for 30 seconds…
- they will click links
- they will find more
- they will see that we have interesting content
- they will see that we have a service or a product to offer
- they will want to learn more
And guess what? We are going to put it all at their fingertips.
What Does that Look Like?
What will happen is …
- we will have that 5 second “Get Your Attention” section at the top
- Then you will scroll down and start to get content
- You’ll scroll down and get more content
- You’ll scroll down and get even more content.
Maybe that first scroll will be about the awesome services your company provides. Maybe the next scroll will be some content about the community. You’ll scroll down again and maybe there are specific products we think will be great for you.
Calls To Action
In each one of those sections, you also need to have a call to action. If anything in those sections gets your new visitor’s attention, they need to be able to take immediate action. Another website design consideration is what will that call to action look like? There needs to be a button, or a form, or a check out. Anything where a visitor can take action right when they see it, because getting people to that section is crucial.
Let’s Review
- You have people visiting your website….yippee!
- Your new visitor has lasted 5 seconds….wahoo!
- If you can get your visitor to last 30 seconds….they’re yours!
30 Seconds on the page….that is our goal.
Homepage, above the scroll or above the fold (however you want to say it)…when the site first loads we want a significant engagement with your lead that is going to keep them on the website. Then as they scroll we want more and more content so they don’t have to go anywhere and you can hook them in for that first 3o seconds.
That is your “elevator pitch”. And….it is not a 5 minute “elevator pitch” online…it is a 5 second pitch and we have to make sure it’s perfect!
We here at Code of Entry are here to help you do that!
