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How quickly does a visitor judge your site?

50 milliseconds

This is all the time you have to make a first impression, and if your website hasn't pleased your visitor youre SOL. Crafting a quality site takes time, and generally the simpler the design, the more effort went into that design.
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A study by researchers in Canada has shown that the snap decisions Internet users make about the quality of a web page have a lasting impact on their opinions.

The lasting effect of first impressions is known to psychologists as the 'halo effect': if you can snare people with an attractive design, they are more likely to overlook other minor faults with the site, and may rate its actual content more favourably.
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http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060109/full/060109-13.html