Semantic prosody of web design

Technology News: E-Commerce: Study: Poor Web Design Alienates Customers
One twentieth of a second. That’s about how long it takes for a Web site Get Linux or Windows Managed Hosting Services with Industry Leading Fanatical Support. to make a first impression on an Internet user, according to researchers at a Canadian university, whose findings could have competitive impacts for businesses on the Web.

What’s more, the researchers reckon the study results produce a halo effect: the first impression creates an initial bias that drives long-term opinions.

If the user thinks the Web site looks good, the impression translates to other areas of the site, like its content. Since people like to be right, Lindgaard reasoned, they will continue to use a Web site that made a good first impression.

None of this is at all surprising. It is similar to the concept of semantic prosody but the same effect can be observed in a variety of contexts (e.g. gender or racial expectations). In a way, it could be described as forming pre-judice on the fly.

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