Sound Strategy
Ten Tips - Don't Make Me Think
Steve Krug's book Don't Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web
Usability (New Riders, 2000) has become something of a classic on Web
site design. The author's touchstone, that Web sites should be effortless
to understand and navigate, is good advice and an antidote to tendencies toward
the fancy and the vain that dog all of our efforts. What follows is a liberal
borrowing and paraphrasing of some of Krug's specific, commonsense suggestions.
- Usability just means making sure that something works well, and a person
of average (or even below average) ability and experience can use the thing.
- Don't make me think: The first law of Web site usability, and which is
more important than "Nothing important should ever be more than two clicks
away," or "Speak the user's language," or "Be consistent." It's the ultimate
tiebreaker when trying to decide whether something works or doesn't work
in a Web site design.
- Self-evident: A Web page should be self-evident, obvious, and self-explanatory.
The visitor should be able to "get it" - that is, understand what the site
is and how to use it - without having to think about or puzzle over it.
- A simple test: How can you tell whether your Web page and site is self-evident
enough and doesn't require visitors to try to figure it out? Imagine your
neighbor, who doesn't know much about the Web or insurance visiting your
home page. Would he or she know, without effort, what the site has to offer,
how it might be relevant, and how to retrieve it?
- Things that make us think: A great number of things about a Web page
can make us stop and think unnecessarily: names that are too cute, clever,
marketing jargon that's internal to the business, or unfamiliar technical
terms.
- Why worry about making visitors think?: Having to think about how to
do something (rather than just doing it) absorbs mental energy, creates
friction and barriers. It can lead people to be frustrated or even embarrassed
at their lack of knowledge and skills. The more your site makes them think
about how to use it and what it means, the less motivation and energy they'll
have to understand and pursue your message and value.
- You don't need another checklist: Become sensitive to eliminating question
marks in your site visitor's mind. If you do that, you'll become adept at
recognizing and then eliminating question marks about your site.
- Self-explanatory: It's not always possible to make your site and Web
pages entirely self-evident. Sometimes what you need to convey is complex
or unfamiliar. If so, make that section or aspect self-explanatory. On a
self-explanatory page, it takes a little thought, but only a little to "get
it."
- How people really use the Web: We'd like to think that they're systematic
and thorough but that's not even remotely true. Site visitors don't pore
over each page. They glance at each new page, they scan some of the text,
and then usually click on the first thing that looks relevant.
- Satisficing and muddling: Web site visitors don't work to make optimal
choices. Instead of choosing the best option, they choose the first reasonable
one - they "satisfice." They don't make the mental effort to try to understand
how your site works, they just muddle along, making do. Your site should
provide good outcomes for "satisficers" and muddlers.
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