Chapter Two: How we really use the web
This chapter is all about how people actually use the web. Krug opens the chapter with the comparison that designers like to think of their web pages as being great pieces of literature when in actuality, users just use them like a billboard that they’re driving past at 60 mph.
He breaks down user behavior to three main facts:
Fact 1: We don’t read pages. We scan them.
The main take away in this section is that when users are looking at a web page, they’re on a mission. Users understand that it is unnecessary to read everything and that scanning enables them to quickly locate the information they’re after.
Fact 2: We don’t make optimal choices. We Satisfice.
Before I outline the key takeaway in this section, I want to go over the word satisfice since it was a new term for me. The idea/term satisfice was first used by the economist Herbert Simon in his work Models of Man: Social and Rational. In Simon’s work, he argues that people typically don’t choose the best option, they choose the first reasonable option. This is usually something that falls within the realm of satisfying and sufficing. Hence satisficing.
Now on to the main takeaway. Users are in a hurry. Because of this, they will chose the first reasonable option they stumble across. Why? The stakes are low if they choose the incorrect one and taking the time to weigh the options isn’t always necessarily worth it.
Krug also points out that there is a game element that makes guessing more interesting/fun.
Fact 3: We don’t figure out how things work. We muddle through.
In this section, Krug discusses that in the usability testing phase, it is not abnormal to see that users frequently use websites and applications without fully understanding how they work.
He highlights that muddling happens because users don’t care enough about the website/application to learn the ins and outs of it. As long as they can successfully use it one way or another, they’ll roll with it. Because of this, users don’t often look for new ways to interact.
To describe how muddling can happen, Krug describes an example of a user looking to purchase software from a website. Rather than selecting the button that clearly says Software, the user clicks Cheap Stuff because in their mind, they want cheap software. So cheap stuff seems promising.
Krug argues that while muddling is okay, it’s inefficient and error-prone.
When users truly understand what they’re doing, they’ll find what they’re after, understand the full range of the site, feel smarter and more in control, and you’ll be able to steer them to areas of the site that you want.
Wrapping Up
To wrap up this chapter, Krug outlines that many designers get frustrated when they watch users interact with their site. They think they’ve done a great job, but users don’t behave the way they think they will.
His advice to mitigate this frustration? If the audience is going to interact with the website/application like it’s a billboard, then design an amazing billboard.
I agree that as a designer it would be incredibly frustrating to see something you’ve put a lot of thought and effort in to designing not being used in its intended way. However, Krug nails it on the head here at the end. At the end of the day, users are going to use a product the way they want. It’s up to the designer whether or not they are going to optimize for those types of interactions (and hopefully they do!).
That’s it for chapter 2. We’re starting to get into the meat and potatoes of the book here. Not quite there. But almost. This was an interesting chapter to read just from the perspective of a user. I’ll fully admit that I’m guilty of using things without fully understanding them which causes me to muddle through. But hey, as Krug points out, most of us do. It’s just standard behavior.
Thanks for reading! I’ll catch ya next time for chapter 3.
Monica Dailey 