Have you ever walked into an institution that you’ve never been to before and been completely lost? This exact situation happened to me about a week ago when I was going to the hospital to meet a family member in their doctor’s waiting area. I walked into the door labeled “Entrance” and got greeted with signs that didn’t contain the physician’s name, department titles that I’ve never heard of, and of course arrows that said an information booth was just to the right, but upon turning right was greeted with nothing but a dead end. As we all do, I stumbled my way around, finally finding some definite signs that lead me in the right direction, but not without wasting all that time in the process, this got me thinking, why wouldn’t they just have proper directions, or readily available info kiosks? Then I realized something. The next time I need to go to that waiting area, I’m not going to use signs, or look for directions anywhere, I’m going to go straight to my destination in the most efficient manner possible. Clogging the hallways with additional signs and using resources on things like people manning information desks was a complete waste for a seasoned “hospital goer”, but we can’t leave newcomers out in the cold like that can we? I was just the victim of the newcomer effect.

What’s the newcomer effect and what does it have to do with UX you ask? It’s when you have to consider someone brand new using your product or website and you have to make it accessible for them, but at the same time, you have to respect those who are seasoned users and not get in their way. I’ll use a stereotypical blog for example. Let’s say you have one of those newsletter popups that display when someone uses your site, and you also have a forum where people can sign up to start engaging in your community. Newcomers to the website might be interested in signing up for a newsletter and might even look forward to receiving your first email, which typically goes over the ins and outs of your website, products, and whatnot. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the user that is already one of your loyal readers, is signed up for your newsletter and forum, and just wants to hop online and engage in your community. This loyal user is not going to want to have a newsletter popup flashed in their face, nor are they going to want to have to sign in time and time again. They want what’s the most efficient for them, having long forgotten their first days as a reader. Now, this is a very simple example that most websites have gotten down pat by using cookies and the like, but for some more intensive products, like a web app, you might be on a slippery slope as a UX designer. You have to find that perfect balance between functionality and clarity that is right for everyone, but how do you do that?

One of the key things that you have to do is think like a newcomer. Just because someone is new to your website, doesn’t mean that they don’t have any experience with a similar product, so treating them like a complete beginner right out of the gate might not be the best idea. For example, if someone has used a similar software in the past, having a popup that constantly tells them to take a product tour may annoy them. Chances are they’re already doing their own “tour” of your product to see how it stacks up to the one they used to use, and they’ll get up and running themselves in a rather short amount of time. I’m not saying that tours are completely useless. Someone entirely new to your type of product might need some help getting started, the key is to ensure that the tour is readily available, but at the same time isn’t always in your face. One way that some websites handle this is a quick questionnaire pop up, something that asks “How familiar are you with accounting software?” Accompanied with answers such as: I’m migrating from Competitor A, I’ve used accounting software in the past a little bit, I need some help getting started, show me what’s unique to your product, and I’ve never used accounting software before. The answer then takes the user into a customized experience with either a full tour of the product, a modified one based on their needs, or just no tutorial at all. While this is more intensive to design and develop, it can leave customers with a great first impression.

Another thing that can help newcomers is being descriptive, but to the point. Prompts, inputs and other user interactable items are typically accompanied by some description or label to help identify what the user needs to do. In these situations, you can do some subtle things that can help new users. For example, you have a really simple questionnaire that has multiple pages. To get from page to page you press the “Next” button, and the user can continue, and of course, a “Previous” button to go back. However, brand new users may not know that they need to continue through several pages of a questionnaire before submitting, and even still might not know if their answers will be saved if they go back a page or two. This can simply be remedied by a small UI element that shows which page their on, something like one of those dot selectors that you see on the bottom of most image sliders. Also, just a small subscript of text near the Previous button that says “all answers saved when switching pages.” These minuscule, almost very obvious UX/UI considerations are forgotten more than you think, but make a world of difference for those on their first questionnaire. The best part is, seasoned users will simply ignore that text and UI element, and continue through without a second thought.

All of these different methods for combating the newcomer effect are great, but how do you know what part of your product need some fixing up? I’ve already mentioned one of the main methods, think like a newcomer, basically think, if you were a complete newbie, where would you want to go first? What goal are you trying to accomplish right out of the gate? Is the help menu easy to find and navigate? Are the installation, or other more “technical” procedures fully documented somewhere? The questions could go on and on because different products have completely different user interactions and experiences. Secondly, try and get someone that is new to the product to test it. Better yet, get a bunch of different people to try it out for the first time and document the results. People in various professions handle problems in their own unique way. Technicians are obviously more comfortable with technical procedures but may get caught up on the more abstract or “artsy” things they need to do. On the other hand, artists will be more comfortable with more artsy items but will get caught up in technical jargon. These real world tests will allow you to see where you might need additional tutorials or more graphic UI/UX elements, and will actually shape how users see and interact with your product.

The newcomer effect will always be there, but there are some simple ways to cope with it. Think like a newcomer and come up with innovative ways to fulfill their needs, but at the same time, don’t forget the people who are already familiar with your product. Adding a few extra descriptive titles and UI elements here and there will clarify what’s going on and not interrupt a skilled individual’s workflow. Finally, do your research. There’s nothing like real-world experience to tell you what you need to do for your customers. Get people from all walks of life to give you feedback, or to signup for your beta. Don’t be like most institutions, ensure everyone from the newbie to the veteran have a great experience with whatever it is you’re building.