How We Really Use the Web

Scanning, Not Reading

We think users carefully read our pages. They don't. They scan. Users glance at each page, pick out words or phrases that catch their eye, and move on. They're on a mission and only care about what's relevant to their current task.

This means most of the carefully crafted text on your page will never be read. Design for scanning, not reading.

Satisficing

Users don't choose the best option — they choose the first reasonable option. Herbert Simon called this "satisficing" (satisfy + suffice). As soon as users find a link that seems like it might lead where they want, they click it.

Optimizing isn't worth the effort when satisficing works well enough. This is rational behavior, not laziness.

Muddling Through

Users don't figure out how things work. They muddle through. Most people don't read instructions — they just start clicking and backtracking until something works. And once they find something that works, they stick with it, even if it's not the most efficient approach.

This isn't a design failure to fix. It's human behavior to design around.