Don’t Make Me Think Steve Krug Dean Steuer MFC 215

Key Points Don’t Make Me Think How People Use the Web Scanning, not Reading Navigation Usability

Don’t Make Me Think The brain has a limit to what it can take in Clarity is imperative A user should always know what they’re doing Everything should be self-evident If it cannot be self-evident, make it self-explanatory

How People Use the Web People don’t read an entire webpage People have a goal when they come to a page People satisfice – they find the option most likely to lead to what they’re looking for Make it clear what the page is about

Scanning, Not Reading People scan pages for relevant information: Create a clear visual hierarchy Stick to conventions, people know them Clearly define portions of the page Avoid noise Make choices easy for the user

Navigation Clearly tell the user where they are and where they can go Good navigation tells the user how to use the site without words Persistent navigation includes: Site ID Sections Link to main page Search box Design for browsers and searchers Browser – people who look through a page for information Searchers – people who use a search bar to find information

Usability Do Don’t Make information accessible and easy to find Accommodate user errors Make a concise and respectable design Anticipate what users will do next i.e. print page Don’t Ask for more information than is necessary Get in the user’s way with features Be excessive with site design, it can be distracting Make users search excessively for what they want