The 5-Second Rule: Why Visitors Leave Your Website Instantly

The test every homepage has to pass

In the first five seconds, a visitor decides whether this site is for them — before they've read a single sentence closely. If that decision isn't made for them clearly, they leave, and no amount of content further down the page gets a chance to change their mind.

What visitors are actually scanning for

In those five seconds, people are looking for three things, in this order:

• What is this, in plain language
• Is it for someone like me
• What do I do next

How to pass the test

Put the answer to all three in the hero, above the fold, in language a stranger would understand without context. If you can't explain what you do in one sentence up there, neither can your visitor.