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Most users are intermediate users. Here’s how you can support them

Understanding what beginners, intermediate and expert users need

Kai Wong
UX Collective

A woman with a tablet and laptop, looking at a number of design inspirations and drawing something at a table.
Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-writing-on-tablet-computer-while-using-laptop-4348401/

I never fully understood one aspect of personas, technological expertise, until it was the focus of my design.

A fully fleshed out persona, with images of the person, a well put together biography, goals, questions, and a number of different bar graphs, showing expertise in technology, design, and more.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-personas-fail/

Don’t get me wrong; I understood why it was essential to include that category: if most of your users had low technical knowledge, you would want to ensure the site didn’t require a lot of complex steps.

However, the “Mid” step was often the most confusing. I could imagine “Low” users that barely knew how to use e-mail and “High” users who are technology whizzes, but what exactly was a user with “Mid” technological expertise? Was knowing this even necessary?

The answer, as it turns out, was Yes. For example, when I had to design around three personas, each with “Low,” “Mid,” and “High” technical expertise, I found that these “Mid” users are some of the most critical users when you’re looking to optimize a design for most users.

After all, these “Mid” users are a happy medium that most of your audience will fall into, perpetual intermediates.

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