First impressions count - count first impressions

Have you ever wondered how to measure how well your design quickly communicates a message?

One thing that's so important in shaping your website, digital platforms, apps or designs is understanding what your users feel, think and experience - because that ultimately underpins your strategy.

One tactic I like to use is the five-second test that gives you real results that you can use to inform your strategy and designs.

What is the five-second test?

Five-second testing is a form of usability testing that allows you to measure how well a design quickly communicates a message.?This test provides quantitative and qualitative feedback that helps you optimise a design.

A five-second test is run by showing an image to a participant/user for just five seconds, after which they answer questions based on their memory?and impression?of the design.?

The image you test could be a website, graphic design, app design, prototype, wireframe, logo, or copy — anything that needs to communicate a message.

Why five seconds? Studies have found that?visitors only spend a few seconds?assessing your website before deciding whether to stay or leave.

I wouldn't recommend you use it as a stand alone measure, but it offers insights o first impressions, what users recall from the limited exposure and how they feel about that image.

“When we give users more than five seconds to study the page, we’ve found they start looking at the page more like a designer, noticing details they would normally miss or misinterpret.”?

When should you be using the five-second test?

Five-second tests could be used to test after you’ve reached a point of preparing high-fidelity designs and running a couple of usability tests. Or they are great to use when your analytics tell you there's a barrier or something causing an issue with a user, but other hypotheses have been tested, so you need to look into the design.

I like to run these tests when we build new pages and sections on the website with new design and messaging. Your internal staff know the message and the purpose, but a user doesn't - getting in the user's mind is what will drive the most successful results.

What are some common questions to ask during the test?

Before you conduct the test, you need to determine what to test and your goal. While there are many uses for the five-second test, the most common themes are:

• Do users understand the product or service?
• Do users feel they will receive a benefit or value from the page?
• Can people recall the brand/service/name?
• What is the main thing you recall?

These questions are important because if a page quickly and easily communicates all of this information, it’s more likely to capture the right audience. This is a key factor when designing improvements focused on increasing conversion and engagement.?In particular, optimising landing pages can significantly impact your success metrics.

Analysing and interpreting the results

One of the best things about five-second tests is that analysing the results is easy! Generally, you can simply categorise the results into one group of users that passed the test (they 'got it') and another who didn’t.?

If more than 80% of participants are in the first group, then you’ve got a successful design. If this number is much lower, then some changes are likely necessary.?

It’s critical to look at the qualitative feedback from both groups. Sometimes, opinions from participants who missed the point will converge on similar ideas or themes. This indicates an anomaly in your design that is throwing people off.??

Are there any limitations to the five-second test?

The five-second may not be suited for testing flows or designs that call for multiple interactions and tasks.

For example, if you want to test a complete checkout experience, the five-second test alone may not provide the relevant results. You'll need additional test methods to get more insights, along with moderated and unmoderated usability testing.?

Join a user testing group

If you're interested in being the tester, CIH are currently recruiting user testers to help build and shape their digital future. You'll be at the forefront of CIH’s latest digital developments, allowing users to enhance and improve their digital skills, gain experience in digital usability testing, and help shape the CIH customer journey and user experience.

Get in touch with me today at bethany.o'[email protected] to discuss the next steps.

This is a great opportunity to develop your digital skills and be a part of co-creating the CIH online experience. The website is a crucial part of how we communicate with our members, and it is even more important than ever, that we have a team of users to help us to improve and shape how we communicate digitally.

I'd love to hear about your experiences and results on any user testing you've done, please get in touch via LinkedIn.

References and related links