Discoverability is whether people come across something they did not know existed; findability is whether they can locate something they already expect. On this site the principle covers both, plus information scent and novelty cues: a plan hidden behind a carousel arrow fails it, while a small "New" tag on prompts, or a badge on the avatar people already click, passes it.
The theory behind it is information foraging (Pirolli and Card, 1999): people decide where to click by judging the "scent" of a cue, that is how likely it is to lead to what they want, and abandon paths whose scent is weak. NN/g's research applies this to labels and navigation. In a study of 179 users, sites with visible or combined navigation saw far more navigation use than sites that hid it behind a menu icon, for example 89% vs 44% on mobile between two sites.
For upsells and feature launches, a feature nobody finds might as well not exist. The best entry points sit where users already look, use words they would use, and show enough of the value that the click feels worth it.
How to use it
- Show all plans on the pricing screen at once; do not hide one behind a swipe or arrow.
- Announce new features at the entry point people already use (a tag, badge or suggested prompt), with a label that says what it does.
- Write specific link and button labels ("Analyze for insights") instead of vague ones ("More", "Explore").
Watch out
- Novelty cues with no explanation, like an icon change, may be read as decoration and missed.
- Overusing "New" badges and red dots turns them into noise and trains people to ignore them.
