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DON’T MAKE ME THINKA Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
Second Edition
Author: Steve Krug Presented by: Nicole Wilson
Krug’s First Law of Usability: Don’t make me think!
“What is the most important thing I should do if I want to make sure my Web site is easy to use?”
“Don’t make me think!” As far as humanly possible, when I look at a Web page it should
be self-evident. Obvious. Self-explanatory.
Things that make us think: Typical culprits are cute or clever names, marketing-
induced names, company-specific names, unfamiliar technical names
Links and buttons that aren’t obviously clickable Search bars: how to search
Things that make us think:
How we really use the Web:Scanning, satisficing, and muddling through
We’re thinking “great literature” (or at least “product brochure”)
Users reality is much closer to “billboard going by at 60 miles an hour”
Three facts about real-world web use: We don’t read pages.
We scan them. We don’t make
optimal choices. We satisfice.
We don’t figure out how things work. We muddle through.
How we really use the Web…
Billboard Design 101:Designing pages for scanning, not reading
Five important things you can do to make sure users see—and understand—as much of your site as possible: Create a clear visual hierarchy Take advantage of conventions Break pages up into clearly defined
areas Make it obvious what’s clickable Minimize noise
Street signs and Breadcrumbs:
Designing Navigation Different kinds of users:
“Search-dominant” users “Link-dominant” users Everyone else
Persistent navigation (or global navigation): describes the set of navigation elements that appear on every page of a site
Should include five elements that you most need to have on hand at all times: Site ID A way home A way to search Sections Utilities
Exception to this rule The Home page Forms
Page names
Street signs and breadcrumbs: Designing Navigation
“You are here” indicators Accomplished by highlighting
my current location in whatever navigational bars, lists, or menus appear on the page
Most common failing = too subtle
Breadcrumbs Show you where you are Give users some sense of
where they are in the grand scheme of things while still allowing the sub-sites to keep their independent navigation schemes
Breadcrumbs alone are not a good navigation scheme
Breadcrumb “best practices” Put them at the top Use > between levels Use tiny type Use the words “You are here” Boldface the last item Don’t use them instead of a
page name Tabs
They’re self evident They’re hard to miss They’re slick They suggest physical space
Example: www.about.com
Designing Navigation
“You are here” indicators
Breadcrumbs
Designing the Home page The Home page has to
accommodate: Site identity & mission Site hierarchy Search Teases/Content
promos/Feature promos Deals Shortcuts Registration
Has to meet a few abstract objectives: Show me what I’m looking
for …and what I’m not looking
for Show me where to start Establish creditability & trust
As quickly as possible the Home page must answer these four questions: What is this? What do they have here? What can I do here? Why am I here—and not
somewhere else?
How to get the message across The tagline The Welcome blurb
Nothing beats a good tagline!
The Home page The Home page has to
accommodate: Site identity & mission Site hierarchy Search Teases/Content
promos/Feature promos
Deals Shortcuts Registration
Usability as a common courtesy Another important
component to Web usability: doing the right thing—being considerate of the user
The reservoir of Goodwill It’s idiosyncratic It’s situational You can refill it Sometimes a single
mistake can empty it
Things that diminish goodwill Hiding info that I want Punishing me for not doing things
your way Asking me for information that
you don’t really need Putting sizzle in my way Your site looks amateurish
Things that increase goodwill Know the main things that people
want to do on your site & make them obvious & easy
Save me steps where ever you can
Put effort into it Know what questions I’m likely to
have, & answer them Provide me with creature
comforts like printer-friendly pages
Make it easy to recover from errors
When in doubt, apologize
Thank you
Questions?