Web users are lazy

When developing your site, you should never lose sight of the fact that Internet users are lazy. Just as Web surfers decide whether they like your site in under a second, if they cannot figure out its purpose, cannot figure out their way around, or have to register to view your content, the chances are they will just leave.

You may be the most energetic and inquisitive person in the ‘offline world’, but something strange happens when we go online. We become impatient and lazy. We curse slow load times, we hate having to register our details, and we hate inconsistent navigation and other usability mistakes.

Cater for lazy Web users

You can cater for the new personalities people adopt when in the online world by following these tips:

Optimise your images and pages to reduce load times.
Ensure your hosting service is reliable – if your site is unreliable, people are likely to leave your site and never return.
Reduce the need for registration wherever possible. If you have a blog, enable comments without forcing a user to register. If you have a forum, allow users to view posts without forcing them to register.
Place a contact form on your site – having to load up an email application as well as making the effort to write to you is something the lazy web user is loathe to do!
When people contact you, consider the amount of effort that person went to when writing your response. You should make even more effort to address all their queries and concerns – they certainly don’t want to have to email you again!
Keep your navigation consistent – a confused surfer is a lost surfer.
Reduce the number of clicks needed to reach each section of your site. I would say that users should be able to reach any section of your site in no more than three clicks.

These are just a few ideas I feel you should employ in order to keep even the laziest visitor to your site happy. Have you used any of these on your site? What steps have you taken to cater for lazy Web users? Do you think I have missed any important points? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

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16 Responses to “Web users are lazy”

Jonathan-C. Phillips:
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:01 am
Those are excellent points! i’ve had some trouble with point #2 lately, MySql server down for some reason, though my hosting company fixed that in a timely fashion, it’s never fun when your site is down. and visitors may think the site doesn’t exists anymore and never return, so gotta watch this.

I, myself, could be considered a lazy web surfer, of course i put some efforts since i do blog myself, but when i come across a site or blog and it takes forever to find something i’ll leave… so i may be a little on the lazy side. But when i find a site i like i’m loyal, and will return every day, every week or well, regularly

Great post, excellent advices!
Martin Reed:
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Hey Jonathan – Glad you liked the article. I have to admit I also become extremely lazy in the online world – it is very important to consider the ‘laziness factor’ when developing websites.
Avoid unnecessary barriers » Community Spark - Community Building Blog:
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:14 pm
[...] Web users are lazy [...]
Chino Yray:
May 4th, 2007 at 9:18 am
#2 hits the spot. it really is a problem when the host suddenly goes down or become so slow.
Iván:
May 4th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Hello! I’m a blogger from Spain. That’s true, somethimes we are very lazy. I can’t wait more than 10 seconds to load a web page XD
PD: Your blog it’s very nice. Regards
Martin Reed:
May 4th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Chino: Doesn’t that just drive you mad? I don’t know why it makes me so crazy, but it does! The Internet changes us!

Iván: Thanks for the comment, I am glad you like the blog! You wait ten seconds to load a web page? You have far more patience than me!
Be careful who you take advice from » Community Building Blog:
May 15th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
[...] Web users are lazy – including many of those that want to make money online. They will come across a blog containing advice on how to get rich and accept all the information as gospel. Most will not do any research into the author to establish the credibility of the advice. [...]
Helping visitors browse your content, Part 1 | Blogging Notes:
May 30th, 2007 at 1:43 am
[...] can be like hell to go through all these archives to find what they’re looking for. And since web users are lazy, they will leave it at that and maybe never come [...]
Cut down on the forum categories » Online Community Building:
June 4th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
[...] Have you noticed how we often check the topics, post and member count before even considering joining a new community? That’s because once we are online, we become lazy. [...]
Are you frustrating your visitors? » Online Community Building:
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:04 pm
[...] have said it before, and I’ll say it again: Web users are lazy. If you don’t believe me, think of your own experiences. You’ll patiently wait in line at the [...]
Macnerdzcare:
December 10th, 2007 at 4:59 am
i optimize more on the “page load time” and navigation of the website.. crappy navigation leads to frustrated users.
Martin Reed - Blog Author:
December 10th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Macnerdzcare – That’s certainly an important area to focus on, just don’t forget about all the other aspects that are important for optimum usability.
Too many rules can damage an online community » Online Community Building:
February 29th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
[...] Web users are lazy. When was the last time you read a terms of service agreement or a site’s privacy policy? Too much text, too little time – I bet you just clicked the ‘Agree’ button, or at the very most gave the text a quick scan or glance. A lengthy list of rules will meet with the same response – people will skip over the list and consequently not even be fully aware of your website’s rules and regulations. [...]
ThoughtPickers Blog >> Web surfers are like goldfish! Tips to grab their attention:
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
ThoughtPickers Blog >> Web surfers are like goldfish! Tips to grab their attention…

Web surfers, like goldfish, suffer from shortterm memory. According to Wikipedia, short-term memory refers to the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time….
Web surfers are like goldfish! Tips to grab their attention « Thoughtpick Blog:
May 7th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
[...] registration options in one simple easy step right on your home page. Web users are lazy. Try to gather minimal information at first step and give optional additional fields for users [...]
Our World in 3009: Lazy, Slow & Fat! « Thoughtpick Blog:
May 7th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
[...] People are seeking more excuses to be lazy: they demand less clicks, less navigation buttons and smoother flowing platforms! Therefore web designers and developers and forced to learn new ways to help facilitate the use of the Internet sites, which in turn also helps make people even more lazy! [...]

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Jonathan-C. Phillips:

May 2nd, 2007 at 9:01 am

Those are excellent points! i’ve had some trouble with point #2 lately, MySql server down for some reason, though my hosting company fixed that in a timely fashion, it’s never fun when your site is down. and visitors may think the site doesn’t exists anymore and never return, so gotta watch this.

I, myself, could be considered a lazy web surfer, of course i put some efforts since i do blog myself, but when i come across a site or blog and it takes forever to find something i’ll leave… so i may be a little on the lazy side. But when i find a site i like i’m loyal, and will return every day, every week or well, regularly

Great post, excellent advices!

Martin Reed:

May 2nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm

Hey Jonathan – Glad you liked the article. I have to admit I also become extremely lazy in the online world – it is very important to consider the ‘laziness factor’ when developing websites.

Avoid unnecessary barriers » Community Spark - Community Building Blog:
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:14 pm

[...] Web users are lazy [...]

Chino Yray:

May 4th, 2007 at 9:18 am

#2 hits the spot. it really is a problem when the host suddenly goes down or become so slow.

Iván:

May 4th, 2007 at 11:54 am

Hello! I’m a blogger from Spain. That’s true, somethimes we are very lazy. I can’t wait more than 10 seconds to load a web page XD
PD: Your blog it’s very nice. Regards

May 4th, 2007 at 12:18 pm

Chino: Doesn’t that just drive you mad? I don’t know why it makes me so crazy, but it does! The Internet changes us!

Iván: Thanks for the comment, I am glad you like the blog! You wait ten seconds to load a web page? You have far more patience than me!

Be careful who you take advice from » Community Building Blog:
May 15th, 2007 at 2:47 pm

[...] Web users are lazy – including many of those that want to make money online. They will come across a blog containing advice on how to get rich and accept all the information as gospel. Most will not do any research into the author to establish the credibility of the advice. [...]

Helping visitors browse your content, Part 1 | Blogging Notes:
May 30th, 2007 at 1:43 am

[...] can be like hell to go through all these archives to find what they’re looking for. And since web users are lazy, they will leave it at that and maybe never come [...]

Cut down on the forum categories » Online Community Building:
June 4th, 2007 at 4:12 pm

[...] Have you noticed how we often check the topics, post and member count before even considering joining a new community? That’s because once we are online, we become lazy. [...]

Are you frustrating your visitors? » Online Community Building:
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:04 pm

[...] have said it before, and I’ll say it again: Web users are lazy. If you don’t believe me, think of your own experiences. You’ll patiently wait in line at the [...]

Macnerdzcare:

December 10th, 2007 at 4:59 am

i optimize more on the “page load time” and navigation of the website.. crappy navigation leads to frustrated users.

Martin Reed - Blog Author:

December 10th, 2007 at 5:53 pm

Macnerdzcare – That’s certainly an important area to focus on, just don’t forget about all the other aspects that are important for optimum usability.

Too many rules can damage an online community » Online Community Building:
February 29th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

[...] Web users are lazy. When was the last time you read a terms of service agreement or a site’s privacy policy? Too much text, too little time – I bet you just clicked the ‘Agree’ button, or at the very most gave the text a quick scan or glance. A lengthy list of rules will meet with the same response – people will skip over the list and consequently not even be fully aware of your website’s rules and regulations. [...]

ThoughtPickers Blog >> Web surfers are like goldfish! Tips to grab their attention:
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm

ThoughtPickers Blog >> Web surfers are like goldfish! Tips to grab their attention…

Web surfers, like goldfish, suffer from shortterm memory. According to Wikipedia, short-term memory refers to the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time….

Web surfers are like goldfish! Tips to grab their attention « Thoughtpick Blog:
May 7th, 2009 at 9:17 pm

[...] registration options in one simple easy step right on your home page. Web users are lazy. Try to gather minimal information at first step and give optional additional fields for users [...]

Our World in 3009: Lazy, Slow & Fat! « Thoughtpick Blog:
May 7th, 2009 at 9:18 pm

[...] People are seeking more excuses to be lazy: they demand less clicks, less navigation buttons and smoother flowing platforms! Therefore web designers and developers and forced to learn new ways to help facilitate the use of the Internet sites, which in turn also helps make people even more lazy! [...]

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