Category
Web
Date
Read time
2 min read
Author
Elias Carter
The First Three Seconds
Films rarely open with the credits anymore. They open with a scene that tells you what kind of story you’re in. A homepage should do the same. People decide in about three seconds whether to stay, and they decide on feeling long before they read a word.
Filed under · Web
01 · Elias Carter
03 · 2 min read
Open on the work
The first frame of a site should show the thing, not describe it. A tailor opens on cloth. A bar opens on a glass catching the light. If the opening needs a paragraph to explain itself, it’s the wrong opening.
One idea above the fold
Every extra element on the first screen splits attention. We keep it to one image, one line and one way forward. The navigation is there when you need it and quiet when you don’t. It looks restrained. It works because nothing is competing.
Pace it like an edit
Scrolling is editing. Each section is a shot, and the space between them is a cut. We plan where the page should breathe and where it should hit, then build the motion to match. A page with rhythm keeps people moving without asking them to.
Load fast, or none of it matters
The best opening in the world is wasted behind a spinner. We budget weight the way we budget screen time: every video, font and effect has to earn its place. The page should be on screen before the visitor finishes blinking.
Fig. 01 · The First Three Seconds