"Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug Flashcards
This deck reviews the basics of web usability. Steve Krug is an expert in web usability. He wrote "Don't Make Me Think." The second edition was published in 2006. This deck is based on his book.
You should try, but often you can’t make every web page…
self-evident. Sometimes you have to settle for self-explanatory.
Using a site that doesn’t make us think about unimportant things feels…
effortless.
The main reason not to force people to think when using your site is that people aren’t going to spend a lot of time…
looking at the site.
If web pages are going to be effective they must work most of their magic at a…
glance.
We don’t make optimal choices. We…
satisfice, which is a cross between “satisfying” and “sufficing.”
We don’t read pages. We scan them. Why do we scan?
1) We are in a hurry.
2) We know we don’t need to read everything.
3) We are pretty good at it.
Why do web user “satisfice?” Why don’t they look for the best choices?
1) They are usually in a hurry.
2) There is not much of a penalty for guessing wrong.
3) Weighing options may not improve chances of success.
4) Guessing is more fun.
We don’t figure out how things work. We…
muddle through.
Muddling through is
1) Inefficient
2) Error-prone
One of the advantages of the users “getting it” is that there is a much better chance that they will …
find what they are looking for.
If your audience is going to act like they are reading a billboard, then design great…
billboards.
We muddle through because…
1) it is not important to us and
2) if we find something that works, then we stick with it.
Each page should have a
clear visual hierarchy.
Clear visual hierarchy: The more important something is, the more…
prominent it is.
Clear visual hierarchy: Things that are related logically are also related…
visually.
Conventions are your …
friends.
There are two important things to know about web conventions…
1) They’re very useful.
2) Designers are often reluctant to take advantage of them.
Break up pages into clearly defined…
areas.
Make it obvious what’s…
clickable.
Convention calls for the»_space; to be pointing…
towards the clickable text.
When you are designing web pages…assume everything is…
visual noise.
Users like…
mindless choices.
It is not the number of clicks that is important, but rather how much …
thought is required to make the decision to click.
Web Navigation 101 is four step process.
1) You are trying to find something.
2) You decide to ask first or to browse first.
3) If you browse, then you make your way through the hierarchy using a series of signs,e.g., buttons, links.
4) If you can’t find what you want, then you leave.
Jakob Nielsen calls people who immediately go to the search bar to find what they want…
search-dominant.
Jakob Nielsen calls those who will browse the site using its links…
link-dominant.
The web experience is different from a store experience because…
on the web there is no sense of:
• scale
• direction
• location
Website navigation is about…
- getting from one place to another and
- finding out where you are.
- giving you a sense of “knowing your way around.”
- letting you know what’s here
- tells you how to use the site
- gives you some confidence in the people who designed the site
On the Mac keyboard Option and 8 will create a
bullet point.
Persistent navigation should include five elements…
1) Site ID
2) a way home
3) a way to search
4) utilities
5) sections