"Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" by Steve Krug outlines foundational principles for creating effective and user-friendly websites and mobile applications. The core philosophy, often summarized as Krug's First Law of Usability, is simple: "Don't make me think!".
Krug's philosophy is rooted in the fact that users interact with the Web far differently than designers often assume:
Don't Make Me Think! (First Law): When users look at a Web page, it should be self-evident, obvious, and self-explanatory. Users should be able to instantly "get it" (what the site is and how to use it) without expending mental effort. If a page cannot be perfectly self-evident, it should at least be self-explanatory, relying on visuals, clear labels, and concise text for nearly effortless understanding. Websites that fail to make things obvious can erode a user's confidence in the site and the organization behind it.
How We Really Use the Web: Krug highlights three facts about user behavior:
◦ We Scan, Not Read: Users generally skim pages rapidly, looking for keywords and phrases, instead of reading every word.
◦ We Satisfice: Users rarely look for the optimal choice; instead, they choose the first reasonable option ("satisficing") and click it quickly. Since the penalty for guessing wrong is usually just clicking the "Back" button, this is an efficient strategy for Web use.
◦ We : Users often navigate systems and technology without fully understanding how they work, or with incorrect ideas about their functionality.
Mindless Choices (Second Law): It's not the total number of clicks that matters, but how hard each click is. Users prefer many clicks, "as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice". Ambiguous or poorly worded links force users to think, which slows them down and undermines usability.
Omit Needless Words (Third Law): Get rid of unnecessary words on each page; Krug suggests eliminating half the words on a page, then half of what remains, as a goal for being ruthless about conciseness. Wordiness, often caused by "happy talk" (content-free introductions) or lengthy instructions, makes pages daunting. Instructions must die, as users typically won't read them until repeated attempts at muddling through have failed.
The book provides guidance for designing critical parts of a site: