Why Do User Interfaces Always Say "welcome!"?

[rob86 2]

I've always wondered about something. Why do the little user interfaces on all kinds of things always say **Welcome!** or something similar. I've used a wide range of gadgets, from mp3 players, to musical keyboards, to phones, guitar amplifiers, mostly things with small LCD's and there's always a good chance they'll start up with a "Welcome!" I don't know about anyone else, but I've become so used to it, that I don't even notice how strange of a word choice it is, until now that is! I've even made some small programs that say "Welcome!", though I had no idea why, other than it just seemed like the thing to do for my first programs.Once in a while, you'll get something that says "Hello!" too, but that seems more rare..at least from what I've seen. Usually these come with a nice little "Goodbye!" when you shut it off.I'm thinking there has to be a reason for it, is it originally due to poor English translation coming from early Asian companies and it's become the accepted thing to put in so the world keeps using it? Most (not all) of the things I've seen with this greeting are made by Japanese or Chinese. A long time ago, they might have wanted to put in a friendly generic greeting, but their words didn't translate to English so well and sound like something you'd see on the mat in front of someone's house.Now you see or hear it everywhere. It's not just on gadgets from Asia. You call some phone service (support, weather whatever) you're greeted with a "Welcome!" or "Bienvenue!" (in my part of the world anyway). When I connect to my ISP, in the modem log I get a "Welcome" or "Bienvenue" there as well. Why are they welcoming my modem? The average person doesn't even see that message. It just seems strange to me. It's like opening a fridge door and seeing "Welcome to your fridge!" or turning on the T.V. and seeing "Welcome to the T.V.!". "Welcome!" just doesn't seem to belong on the UI of some electronic gadget.

[rvalkass 5]

On a purely technical front, I'm guessing the devices are generally booting up. When you switch them on they need to load their OS and whatever files they need to work, just like a PC. Most PCs, rather than displaying "Welcome" generally show a nice bootsplash image for you to look at. Users like visual feedback, and a long delay between turning a device on and something appearing on screen would cause people to try the power button again, turning the device off. The "Welcome" message provides fairly quick visual feedback while the rest of the information needed to run the device is loaded.On a random note, very few of my devices actually say "Hello" or "Welcome". My MP3 player shows a nice splash image for a few seconds, my digital camera pulses an LED in the power light before the screen comes on and my phone shows some random model and manufacturer information. Seems I just have unfriendly gadgets I guess

[nolan 0]

I'm going to have to second what rvalkass said. Personally, though, I prefer to see some kind of loading bar so that I can actually see progress being made.

On another note, you could probably argue that there's some kind of psychological reason for it. Making your customers feel more "welcome" using your product could be another reason they'd want to go back to you for other products in the future. This would especially be the case if the alternative were seeing something like "Please wait... Decompressing stack-001192.dll", which could intimidate some people.

On a purely technical front, I'm guessing the devices are generally booting up. When you switch them on they need to load their OS and whatever files they need to work, just like a PC. Most PCs, rather than displaying "Welcome" generally show a nice bootsplash image for you to look at. Users like visual feedback, and a long delay between turning a device on and something appearing on screen would cause people to try the power button again, turning the device off. The "Welcome" message provides fairly quick visual feedback while the rest of the information needed to run the device is loaded.
On a random note, very few of my devices actually say "Hello" or "Welcome". My MP3 player shows a nice splash image for a few seconds, my digital camera pulses an LED in the power light before the screen comes on and my phone shows some random model and manufacturer information. Seems I just have unfriendly gadgets I guess

[xpress 0]

Well, its some general thing to make you feel welcome. How do you feel if the software says Get The Hell Out Of Here when you start it?

 

Usually its just some convention. For example when you learn programming almost all instructors will teach a program on how to write "Hello, World" or simple "Hello". They do it regardless of the programming language. And almost all programming books will have this "Hello world" as their first program. Its not a rule. Its just convention. "Welcome" message is just like that.

[BuffaloHelp 24]

Perhaps it's because after long hours of coding and bug testing, before the final launch of the software/program, people have exhausted the last brain cell and thus only has one common word to say for "it's a success if you see this page"--"WELCOME!"It's like a great sigh of relief. W-E-L-C-O-M-E

[armynavy123 0]

That is a really good question to ask! The answer varies! It may just be a sign that the device that you are using is working and is ready to do whatever or it may just want you to be engadged in the program!

[onkarnath2001 0]

i think that creating something and showing it to some one is a great pleasure and when any company or brand makes it product and the client accept the product then the manufacturer want to say them thanks but they can't do so lively ..so they have developed an idea to feed it on the front end with a word "welcome".i think so,,,may it be different but i always think so whenever i get this word on my gadgets or software front end or interfaces.i feel manufacturers wants to greet me on a splendid purchase and i feel frustrated when it goes anything wrong with that device or s/w.

[jlhaslip 4]

What's wrong with using WELCOME as a signal of successfully signing on or booting a machine?And why not use "Hello World!" like most 'first script' attempts???

[inverse_bloom 0]

Using the word "welcome" seems to have become a tradition. Its like saying "Welcome to my world". You'd see countless websites in the mid to late 90's with the heading "Welcome to my hompage!". Its just a usability concern to include such a word (as many have mentioned before), its just an friendly indicator that the interface is there to serve your needs by greeting you.As for the word "welcome" it has a ring of appropriateness to it when you compare it to say maybe "Hello user im here to serve your needs" or "Mp3 loading and initialising" or "Version 1.32 of Mp3 exploder says hello". It doesnt seem peculiar to me because i studied interface design a while ago and haven't overlooked the reason for the word since then.

Edited December 15, 2009 by inverse_bloom (see edit history)

[mahesh2k 0]

Well if we use "Hello world" then it will look weird for some people. Especially to non-programmers, they'll ask why hello world is used. For some people it is like puzzle. Using welcome is like same way for all of us. But there are some softwares and web apps which says "Hiya userxyz" or "Hello user1234".

[ghost of delete key 0]

Well, its some general thing to make you feel welcome. How do you feel if the software says Get The Hell Out Of Here when you start it?

This.

 

Lots of market research has shown that devices/applications that deliver a more "personalized experience" curry more favor with their users than "cold" apps which do not acknowlege the user in some sort of warm fuzzy human fashion.

 

It's something like the reason bathrobes are made of terrycloth and not sandpaper...

[Quatrux 4]

Yes, welcome is like a standard word, but developing sites in my country language is a bit a pain with the word welcome, in English it's alright, you just say welcome and say a username, you don't need to worry about if it's a female or a male word or what kind of ending it has, in my language it matters as you need to add different endings on different situations. :PSo usually translated software is funny, it can sound funny, I think an example with English language would be: 0 dollars, 1 dollar, 2 dollars and etc. where you need to check the number if you don't want to just do 1 dollars.

[mahesh2k 0]

Lots of market research has shown that devices/applications that deliver a more "personalized experience" curry more favor with their users than "cold" apps which do not acknowlege the user in some sort of warm fuzzy human fashion.

And what about those interfaces which starts with some ad or sales pitch instead of personalized messages ? Even sales pitch could be hidden inside the personal welcome message. Like "welcome user" you are using basic plan of mobile, do you want to upgrade to professional plan ?,use this coupon code and get 95% discount. Act now". Alright i made generic message but there could be some services like that. How people respond to that ? Ignore it or hate the service ?

[rob86 2]

I just want to mention that my recently purchased Yamaha drum kit says * Welcome ! * When I start the module up. It's everywhere!I haven't seen many (any?) products from Aus, do they say "G'day, mate?"

[anwiii 17]

i sorta had the same response as you....except i think it would be kinda cool if it greeted you with "hey stupid!" or something like that. just like my dad and i one day was having a discussion about his gps unit and how it's always so polite....even when you piss a turn on your routed course. it would be cool....just to hear..."hey dummy! you just missed your turn!"

 

so...back on topic. i think it's just a way to allow the connection between a device and you to become more interactive right from the start. it's obviously not needed and ofcourse we aren't going to greet it back like a fool after seeing "welcome"....like "oh...hey there". i think those little things just add a little more character to whatever you are buying....just like the "you got mail" on aol....as well as the "welcome". for people like me, i can live without it. for others though, if they aren't greeted, the experience will never be the same

 

Well, its some general thing to make you feel welcome. How do you feel if the software says Get The Hell Out Of Here when you start it?

 

Usually its just some convention. For example when you learn programming almost all instructors will teach a program on how to write "Hello, World" or simple "Hello". They do it regardless of the programming language. And almost all programming books will have this "Hello world" as their first program. Its not a rule. Its just convention. "Welcome" message is just like that.