Defaulting

Kosh's sign-up asks new users how much to auto-save each month. The field starts empty, and most people tap "Next" without typing anything. The result: no savings plan at all. Nobody decided that. The empty field decided it.

The rule

Whatever happens when users do nothing — make that the right thing.

A default is the outcome a user gets if they take no action: the pre-selected option, the pre-filled amount, the setting already switched on. Every form and settings screen has defaults, including an empty field, whose default is "nothing happens".

Defaults are powerful for three reasons:

• Effort. Doing nothing is always the easiest option, so many people keep whatever is set.
• Status quo bias. People tend to stick with how things already are.
• Implied advice. A pre-selected option reads as "this is what we recommend".

The classic evidence comes from workplace pensions. When employers switched from "sign up if you want" to "you are enrolled unless you opt out", the share of new employees saving jumped dramatically — in one well-known study, from well under half to over eight in ten. The plan was identical; only the default changed.

A responsible default follows three rules:

1. It is the option most users would pick if they thought it through, in their own interest.
2. It is visible and easy to change, on the same screen.
3. It is reviewed as you learn more about your users.

The shortcut

Run the do-nothing test on every screen: "If the user taps Next without touching anything, what happens?" That outcome is your default, whether you chose it or not.

The trap is a default that serves the business instead of the user, such as a pre-ticked paid add-on. It exploits the same power, and it fails the first rule.

Drills

Answer fast — trust the rule.

Remember

• Whatever happens when users do nothing — make that the right thing.
• Shortcut: the do-nothing test on every screen.
• Trap: defaults that serve the business, or that are hard to see and change.