What can be done with your website design, layout, and content to make it easier for users to get what they’re looking for?

Steve Krug offers up some enlightened advice in his book Don’t Make Me Think. A must-read for anyone involved in website development, Krug’s book will help you learn more about how users really use the Web. It also provides excellent advice on which website elements are required so that users don’t have to think. Below are some key learnings from the book.

How We Really Use the Web

1. We don’t read pages, we scan them. Why?

• We’re usually in a hurry
• We know we don’t need to read everything
• We’re good at it

2. We don’t make optimal choices. We satisfice (we don’t choose the best option – we choose the first reasonable option). Why?

• We’re usually in a hurry
• There’s not much of a penalty for guessing wrong
• Weighing options may not improve our chances
• Guessing is more fun

3. We don’t figure out how things work. We muddle through. Why?

• It’s not important to us
• If we find something that works, we stick to it

Designing Pages for Scanning, Not Reading

There are five important things you can do to make sure users see and understand as much of your site as possible.

1. Create a clear visual hierarchy

• The more important something is, the more prominent it is (bold, bigger font)
• Things that are related logically are also related visually (grouping things together under one heading)
• Things are “nested” visually to show what’s part of what

2. Take advantage of conventions (conventions of page layout & formatting)

• They’re very useful - well-applied conventions make it easier for users to go from site to site without expending a lot of effort figuring out how things work
• Designers are often reluctant to take advantage of them

3. Break up pages into clearly defined areas

• Allow users to decide quickly which areas of the page to focus on and which ones to safely ignore

4. Make it obvious what’s clickable

• When you force users to think about something that should be mindless (like what’s clickable), you’re squandering the limited reservoir of patience

5. Keep the noise down to a dull roar

• There are 2 kinds of noise:
• Busy-ness – everything on the page is clamoring for attention
• Background Noise – lots of tiny bits of noise that wear us down

To learn more about website usability, pick up a copy of Don’t Make Me Think. It’s a quick read, it’s an informative guide, and it’s an invaluable tool that will help you develop more user-friendly, accessible, and efficient websites for your audience.