TLDR: WATCH THE VIDEO (click above)
Be honest: are you reading this in the Substack mobile app? Don’t feel bad if not—it’s still pretty new. As someone who creates and consumes content on this platform every week, I was eager to test it out. And you know what happened next. 😉
It turns out: the app isn’t just a place to explore your favorite long-form content. It’s also a case study of sorts on how defaults impact user experience. Let's dive deeper into this often-overlooked (by default!) design principle.
Design Lesson #1: Defaults Matter
When I first launched the app, I was invited to follow creators. But unlike on most platforms, Substack didn't preselect anyone for me. This might sound like a small thing. But the truth is, defaults are a huge lever for guiding choices. Behavioral science tells us: when people are presented with preselected options, they often end up with more choices than when starting from zero. So if Substack’s goal is to get me to follow lots of interesting creators, why discount a design principle with the proven power to accomplish this? 🤔
Freedom of Choice: Blessing or Curse? 😵💫
By opting out of defaults, Substack could enable a more personalized user experience. I can choose my own adventure! But from a behavioral science perspective, too much choice can be overwhelming. And without a default, I might end up following fewer creators than if I had been offered a curated starting point. ☝️
But as I touched on in last week’s Nuuly teardown, the problem is less with how many choices you offer, but how you present them. Substack could ease the burden by grouping creators into categories. They could offer themed starter packs of creators based on trending topics, genres, or user demographics.
Familiarity Breeds Contentment 😌
When browsing creators, I found some recognizable names, but also a lot of unknown ones. According to the mere exposure effect, we tend to develop preferences for things just because we’re familiar with them. Platforms leverage this all the time by showcasing familiar faces or well-known entities (the Brene Browns and Bill Gates of the world) to make users feel at ease.
If Substack wants users to discover (and follow) new writers, striking a balance between familiar and new names could nudge users to try new things while also making choices that feel as comfy as an old pair of sneakers. 👟
Defaults: Design’s Unsung Heroes 🦸🏽♂️
We think we’re choosing our destiny (or Substack feed). But we underestimate the impact of defaults on our choices. 💡
At Irrational Labs, we asked over 900 people why they were or weren’t saving for retirement. 86% of those who were saving said things like ‘I want to be able to have something to fall back on’ and ‘I want to be prepared and live comfortably’ to explain why. The non-savers gave reasons like ‘I can barely afford to pay bills’. Both groups were wrong.
The real reason people save for retirement vs. not saving? Defaults. Companies that automatically enroll employees in a retirement savings plan increase savings rates by 50 percentage points.
Substack is not a retirement savings app. But so what. Defaults have proven effective in everything from financial and health decisions to consumer decisions.
Defaults stack up well. And (mostly) so does Substack. 🕶️
👉 3 things I cover in this teardown:
✅ How defaults shape user decisions & what this means for PMs trying to increase engagement
✅ The carousel conundrum & why you should design for discoverability, not looks alone
✅ Why you may need to create a new mental model to go with your innovative new feature (& why using the wrong existing mental model can backfire)
👏 Props to Substack for trying something different and not being the type of media company we already know and don't love. Clearly they’re doing some things right, because I’ll be back next week with another teardown! 🎉
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Questions about your product? Email kristen@irrationallabs.com.
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