How website users think
Basically, the habits of users on the internet are no different from customer’s habits when in stores. Website visitors glance in every page, skim through the texts and click on the first link which catches the interest and will vaguely resemble the products that they are looking for. In fact, website users do not look at every part of the web pages. Most website users look for something that will spark their interest or something that is clickable. As soon as they find these promising the users will click it. If the new web page will not meet the expectations of the users, they will immediately click the back button and move on to another website.
- Users will appreciate credibility and usability. If a website provides users with high quality content, they will be willing to compromise with the design and advertisements of the website just to get the information that they need. This is the top reason why websites that are not that really well designed but with high quality content can gain a lot of traffic in the years to come. Content indeed is very important compared to the design and only acts as a support to it.
- Users do not read, they scan the web pages. According to web analysis, users search for something that they already have in mind or in some anchors or fixed points which will guide them when going through the content of the web pages.
- Web users are usually impatient and will insist on instant gratification. There is a very simple principle to this: if the website will not be able to meet the expectations of the user, then the designer absolutely failed in getting his job done properly and his business will be losing money. The higher the cognitive load is, the less intuitive will be the navigation and more users will leave the website in search for other alternative.
Users do not make optimal choices. Users will not search for the quickest way when looking for information. They also do not scan the web page in a linear manner, going from one site section to another one. Instead, they make use of satisfice. They choose the first option that is reasonable. When they find a link that will lead them to their goal, which is a very chance that they will click the link.