Notes on Chapter 2
Summary: This chapter is about the way people read differently on the web. It's that get-in-and-get-out mode because they are looking for something specific.One the top right of page 21 of Steve Krug's book, he placed a children's riddle: What are things always in the last place you look for them? Because you stop looking when you find them!
Moms Be Like BAD Websites that Don't Help You Find What You're Looking For
Tim Hawkins: "Thanks, Captain Obvious" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IC9O98PybQFact 1 - People scan because:
- they are have a purpose
- they are looking for what they need
- scanning works
Fact 2 - People don't make the best choices because:
- they are in a hurry
- not a big penalty for making a wrong choice
- weighing choices may not improve outcomes
- there is a payoff in guessing
Fact 3 - People don't read instructions because:
- they don't care about process as much as they care about outcomes
- they are hesitant to try something new, so they would rather experiment with what they know (Krug calls this "muddling through")
- help the user find what they're looking for
- guide the user to other parts of your site beyond what they are looking for (but may find useful)
- to provide a more positive experience for the user
Questions, Reflections and Personal Applications
"Even technically savvy users often have surprising gaps in their understanding of how things work" (Krug 26).I found this to be true when I was struggling with the caption feature in WordPress. I went to Google to find a solution and found a Word Press Forum related to captions https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-do-i-add-an-image-caption-and-have-it-display?replies=19. On this forum, Brightgirldesigns said, "I'm a designer/coder and sometimes WordPress does not feel real intuitive to me. Maybe I know too much for own good, LOL!"
