They observed that when making selections from unfamiliar menus, it is highly likely that users will see one of the initial items. It should not be assumed that users ever will see some of the other items, particularly on longer menus. Conclusions In both familiar and unfamiliar menus, users tend to begin with one of the top three menu items. They do this for quite different reasons. In familiar menus, they are trying to anticipate the location of frequently used items.
Consistency enables people to anticipate the location of favored items.
Selecting items quickly can be done best with items that are toward the top of the page, in a familiar tab location, in a familiar left-margin position, etc. On pages that are fast loading and consistent, users may be able to make their selections before the pages appear, and certainly long before a page completely loads.