5 second test

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

Have you seen this? It's a way to get really feedback about first impressions of your site. You upload a screenshot of your site and get back a test url. Users click on the url get a 5 second preview of your site. Then they are asked to write down what they remember about the site.

Want to try it out? It's fun to do them. Here's one for my work site:

http://fivesecondtest.com/test/6f7cae6

(You all have seen my other sites!)

Get your own test here:

http://fivesecondtest.com/

pr0gr4mm3r's picture

He has: 1,502 posts

Joined: Sep 2006

Wow, I wasn't able to recall many things after only 5 seconds. It's still a good idea because they say sites will loose most visitors within the first 8 seconds or something.

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

Yeah, that's what I found too, although with some sites I've tested I found that there were pretty important things that I couldn't remember seeing - like the logo.

Greg K's picture

He has: 2,145 posts

Joined: Nov 2003

So when you create the test, you have to manually give the URL to people? I was thinking it was a site you could go to where people interested sat and looked at images and commented on random ones.

Do you have a sample of the results you get?

-Greg

They have: 4 posts

Joined: Sep 2008

Seems like a good site to get some feedback from. I will be interested to see how you get the data from reviewers.

Megan's picture

She has: 11,421 posts

Joined: Jun 1999

It just sends you an email with exactly what the user inputted. So far not all that useful - I think it could be better if they rephrased the question. Maybe instead of asking about the elements you can recall it could ask what your first impression was or something like that.

I have heard from others that you get better feedback if you test a page for a specific topic or purpose rather than a general home page.

decibel.places's picture

He has: 1,494 posts

Joined: Jun 2008

Sure, I have heard that the "average" viewer decides whether to stay on a web site in the first 10-20 seconds.

I think the 5 second test is kind of extreme. I remember in 3rd grade my teacher took the class outside and told us to look in a store window, then she told us to write everything down that we saw.

It's not so much a test of the display, but rather a test of an individual's retention of visual data, which varies greatly.

I suppose the 5 second test can be a metric tool, along with other tools. I would not base decisions solely on its results.

After the initial splash, a site needs to have engaging content, sensible navigation, and if appropriate, useful tools, to keep the visitor engaged.

They have: 3 posts

Joined: Dec 2008

decibel.places wrote:
Sure, I have heard that the "average" viewer decides whether to stay on a web site in the first 10-20 seconds.

I think the 5 second test is kind of extreme. I remember in 3rd grade my teacher took the class outside and told us to look in a store window, then she told us to write everything down that we saw.

It's not so much a test of the display, but rather a test of an individual's retention of visual data, which varies greatly.

I suppose the 5 second test can be a metric tool, along with other tools. I would not base decisions solely on its results.

After the initial splash, a site needs to have engaging content, sensible navigation, and if appropriate, useful tools, to keep the visitor engaged.

Yeah, I wouldn't base too many decisions off of this. I looked at the Waterloo site and wasn't able to remember too much because all I was thinking was, I need to remember as much as I can.

I think it's good to think about first impressions, but 5 seconds may be too unrealistic.

JeevesBond's picture

He has: 3,956 posts

Joined: Jun 2002

I found taking part in this test quite illuminating. On the University of Waterloo site I remembered the name of the university, some stuff about the crest (branding, which is important), some keywords from the main news article, and where the navigation is.

From that we can see that the hierarchy of information on the site, and the way it's presented, is good.

a Padded Cell our articles site!

They have: 3 posts

Joined: Dec 2008

Very cool idea. I like it.

They have: 5 posts

Joined: Dec 2010

This is really nice test that you provide in this thread. There are some karma point, free points. You people good knowledge about the test. With this every one can get hierarchy of information from this site. And its good presenting.

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