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The Importance of Designing for the Average User
< Articles
The problem we face as designers and developers is that we see our own sites as intuitive because we built them. We know every button, every interaction, every intention behind it. But the average user? They’ve just arrived. They don’t know the layout, the logic, or the goals. They’re not exploring, they’re scanning.
They rely on familiarity and patterns. That’s where conventions come in. Things like a nav bar at the top or side of a page. The user immediately understands what it's for, where to find it, and how to use it without needing to figure anything out.
Creating new and clever ways to do basic things often backfires. You might feel like you’re innovating, but to the average visitor, it can cause confusion, hesitation, and lost trust. As Steve Krug explains in Don't Make Me Think, conventions aren't lazy. They're essential to helping people move smoothly through your site.
One of my favorite takeaways from the book is this:
When users see a carefully crafted paragraph about your service, they don’t admire your writing.
They read:
“blah, blah, blah website design, blah blah blah.”
We all do it. We're skimming for keywords.
Looking for something to buy, book or click, we skim until something sticks.
Most users will not try to "figure out" a confusing interface, they will just leave and move to a competitor.
They won't ask questions, explore your menus, or try to understand your vision. They will bounce.
A site without clear navigation, obvious Call To Actions (CTAs), or familiar structure is like a maze with no map. And in most cases, uses won't bother solving it.
Results: Higher bounce rates, lower conversions, and fewer leads.
You might think a custom layout feels unique and creative. But to the average user, it just feels off.
If your booking button is hidden, your nav bar is on the bottom left corner, or your homepage opens with a video and no text. You have made them think already, and that can cause breaks in trust.
Users expect certain patterns. When those aren't met, their confidence drops, and so does your credibility.
Result: The business feels unprofessional or hard to trust, even if the product or services is great.
A design packed with animations, hover effects, scroll based tricks, and over sized media may look exciting to you. But it can slow down load times, and overwhelm the average user, especially on mobile.
Instead of feeling impressed they feel lost, or stuck.
Sometimes, less is more.
Results: Slower site, worse SEO, and users who leave before they even understand what you offer.
Small things matter. If your form has too many fields, your buttons are vague (e.g "Click Here" instead of "Get a Quote"), or your CTAs blend into the background, users skim over it.
You don't lose them out of frustration, you lose them out of indecision.
Results: Missed Opportunity, lost leads, and no way to know why.
No. Absolutely not.
But here is the catch: if you're going to break convention, you'd better replace it with something so obvious the user doesn't even notice the convention is broken.
Innovation in design is powerful; when it removes friction, solves a real problem, or creates a more enjoyable experience. But when its applied to things that already work or are respected conventions (like navigation bars, buttons or checkout flows), you're not innovating, you are interrupting.
Think of conventions as UX shorthand.
If you remove the shortcut, you need to make the long way perfectly clear.
The more commonly understood the original pattern is, the more effort you have to put into making your alternative instantly understandable.
That's why innovation should focus on improving the experience, not reinventing the wheel just to be different.
Be creative, but never at the cost of clarity.
As discussed, most users don't read websites. They scan.
They're looking for confirmation, "Is this what I need?", and they want that answer in seconds.
Paragraphs? Ignored.
Walls of text? Skipped.
They're hunting for headings, keywords, prices, and buttons.
This is why layout matters more than copy.
It's why heirarchy, contrast, spacing, and callouts are more important than attempting to sound clever.
Your site should function like a map, not a novel.
Every section should lead out to the next logical step, and every visual should guide the eye towards action.
Designing for the average user means embracing how they think, and how little time they're willing to spend figuring things out.
One of the most eye-opening things you can do is this:
Hand your website to a friend and say nothing.
No context. No Backstory. No explination.
Just give them a simple goal, like "Try to book a service" or "Buy a product". And watch what happens.
Where do they hesitate?
Where do they get confused?
Where do they scroll back up, hover too long, or say "Wait, where is that again"
Now repeat that with a few different people. Bonus points if they:
Every stumble they have is a design problem you're too close to see.
You already know where everything is. They don't.
That's the difference between designing for yourself and designing for the average user.
If five people can't complete the same action without asking questions. Your design needs work.
Designing for the average user doesn't mean aiming low.
It means respecting the way people actually use the web, not how we wish they did.
Simplicity isn't boring. Familiarity isn't lazy.
They're how you build trust fast and help people take action without friction.
If your site can guide a distracted, half interested visitor from confusion to clarity in under 10 seconds.
You've already won. Because that's most people. That's who you're really designing for.
Want help making your site clearer, faster, and more effective?
Get booked in with Presence Foundry, and let's build something that works for real users.
The problem we face as designers and developers is that we see our own sites as intuitive because we built them. We know every button, every interaction, every intention behind it. But the average user? They’ve just arrived. They don’t know the layout, the logic, or the goals. They’re not exploring, they’re scanning.
They rely on familiarity and patterns. That’s where conventions come in. Things like a nav bar at the top or side of a page. The user immediately understands what it's for, where to find it, and how to use it without needing to figure anything out.
Creating new and clever ways to do basic things often backfires. You might feel like you’re innovating, but to the average visitor, it can cause confusion, hesitation, and lost trust. As Steve Krug explains in Don't Make Me Think, conventions aren't lazy. They're essential to helping people move smoothly through your site.
One of my favorite takeaways from the book is this:
When users see a carefully crafted paragraph about your service, they don’t admire your writing.
They read:
“blah, blah, blah website design, blah blah blah.”
We all do it. We're skimming for keywords.
Looking for something to buy, book or click, we skim until something sticks.
Most users will not try to "figure out" a confusing interface, they will just leave and move to a competitor.
They won't ask questions, explore your menus, or try to understand your vision. They will bounce.
A site without clear navigation, obvious Call To Actions (CTAs), or familiar structure is like a maze with no map. And in most cases, uses won't bother solving it.
Results: Higher bounce rates, lower conversions, and fewer leads.
You might think a custom layout feels unique and creative. But to the average user, it just feels off.
If your booking button is hidden, your nav bar is on the bottom left corner, or your homepage opens with a video and no text. You have made them think already, and that can cause breaks in trust.
Users expect certain patterns. When those aren't met, their confidence drops, and so does your credibility.
Result: The business feels unprofessional or hard to trust, even if the product or services is great.
A design packed with animations, hover effects, scroll based tricks, and over sized media may look exciting to you. But it can slow down load times, and overwhelm the average user, especially on mobile.
Instead of feeling impressed they feel lost, or stuck.
Sometimes, less is more.
Results: Slower site, worse SEO, and users who leave before they even understand what you offer.
Small things matter. If your form has too many fields, your buttons are vague (e.g "Click Here" instead of "Get a Quote"), or your CTAs blend into the background, users skim over it.
You don't lose them out of frustration, you lose them out of indecision.
Results: Missed Opportunity, lost leads, and no way to know why.
No. Absolutely not.
But here is the catch: if you're going to break convention, you'd better replace it with something so obvious the user doesn't even notice the convention is broken.
Innovation in design is powerful; when it removes friction, solves a real problem, or creates a more enjoyable experience. But when its applied to things that already work or are respected conventions (like navigation bars, buttons or checkout flows), you're not innovating, you are interrupting.
Think of conventions as UX shorthand.
If you remove the shortcut, you need to make the long way perfectly clear.
The more commonly understood the original pattern is, the more effort you have to put into making your alternative instantly understandable.
That's why innovation should focus on improving the experience, not reinventing the wheel just to be different.
Be creative, but never at the cost of clarity.
As discussed, most users don't read websites. They scan.
They're looking for confirmation, "Is this what I need?", and they want that answer in seconds.
Paragraphs? Ignored.
Walls of text? Skipped.
They're hunting for headings, keywords, prices, and buttons.
This is why layout matters more than copy.
It's why heirarchy, contrast, spacing, and callouts are more important than attempting to sound clever.
Your site should function like a map, not a novel.
Every section should lead out to the next logical step, and every visual should guide the eye towards action.
Designing for the average user means embracing how they think, and how little time they're willing to spend figuring things out.
One of the most eye-opening things you can do is this:
Hand your website to a friend and say nothing.
No context. No Backstory. No explination.
Just give them a simple goal, like "Try to book a service" or "Buy a product". And watch what happens.
Where do they hesitate?
Where do they get confused?
Where do they scroll back up, hover too long, or say "Wait, where is that again"
Now repeat that with a few different people. Bonus points if they:
Every stumble they have is a design problem you're too close to see.
You already know where everything is. They don't.
That's the difference between designing for yourself and designing for the average user.
If five people can't complete the same action without asking questions. Your design needs work.
Designing for the average user doesn't mean aiming low.
It means respecting the way people actually use the web, not how we wish they did.
Simplicity isn't boring. Familiarity isn't lazy.
They're how you build trust fast and help people take action without friction.
If your site can guide a distracted, half interested visitor from confusion to clarity in under 10 seconds.
You've already won. Because that's most people. That's who you're really designing for.
Want help making your site clearer, faster, and more effective?
Get booked in with Presence Foundry, and let's build something that works for real users.
We work with initial concepts to fully planned sites.
Start a project, schedule a consultation, or give us a query.