How many seconds does the average internet user spend on the home page of a site? Probably a few seconds. In those few seconds, you’ll have to grab all the eyeballs you can get. The very first impression is everything. Seasoned web surfers tend to evaluate your website within 5 seconds based on the 5 key factors outlined in this article.

1. Your Site’s Speed

Not everyone has the fastest broadband connection at work or at home. You have to ensure that your site is light enough to load fast no matter what kind of connectivity is used. If your page takes over 10 seconds to load, users will get frustrated and abandon your web site altogether.  Typical surfers plan to explore several pages in your site and if site loading itself puts them back by 10 seconds, then your inner pages have no hope of being viewed

2. Your Site’s Credibility

People who look for information or for goods online are concerned about the credibility of their source. For information, they want the best from an expert. When it comes to goods, they will give out their credit card information only to a company that seems to be a solid professional business. Make sure that you list credible sources for your information and provide all the security measures and credibility information for your online shopping portal.

3. Your Site’s Relevancy

Use keywords and keyword phrases that are relevant to your business. Don’t add a bunch of keywords to your search engine matrix just to earn traffic, if you want people to visit your site. Time is precious and your users won’t thank you for using random keywords to rank your site high. People want what they’re looking for and leading them to your site unethically will harm your site’s relevancy.

4. Your Site’s Usability

How usable is your site? Is it easily navigable, does it provide information under clearly named tabs, or do users have to look everywhere for the most basic information? Don’t scatter banners, text and links all over your home page without any logical hierarchy or grouping. All this will only confuse your user. Keep your site and its content organized and simple. Do a usability test of your site – hire a professional to do this if you must.

5. Your Site’s Currency

How current is the information on your site? If your web site design and content are out of date, it’s likely your business won’t do well. Check if your site lists ‘recent news’ that was put up in 2004. If you don’t have the time bandwidth to adjust your site every now and then, incorporate direct RSS feeds for news items. This will keep it current. Update your products, pricing and other information every week. It takes dedication and hard work to keep a site current but you will benefit in the long run by doing it. Keep your site current and earn your users’ respect.

Saksham, who is a part time blogger, likes to update people about the latest coupons and discounts. He regularly contributes at his coupons blog where he shares Omnis network promotional codes and Hostpapa promotional coupon codes.