Review: Don't Make Me Think!
I found Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug to be an interesting book. It was simple and cut to the case. The book was a way to teach website creators how to get users interested in their website. What were the tricks to get web user to go and stay on your page.
I learned to not make the user think. Things should at least be self-explanatory for the user. This means I should make my website as evident to any person who may not even know how to use the Internet. You don't want your audience to get into your website and think: where should I start? Because chances are they came on your website for a reason and if they can't find what they're looking for off the bat, your website needs to be improved. Another thing is you should make the icons on your page easy to know if they are clickable. You don't want the web user to question that because the website should be easy for the user to skim and understand. The biggest thing I learned from Chapter One was to get rid of the question marks for your audience. So, when creating your website, if you have questions about something, change it because your someone may be questioning the same thing when they click on your website.
"On the internet, the competition is always one click away, so if you frustrate users they'll head somewhere else." This quote was stuck in my head while I read the rest of the chapters. It's true, if you're website is confusing chances are someone else's website, with the same content, isn't. So, make your website as easy to navigate as possible for the web users.
Another thing I learned from Mr. Krug is that people will scan through your website. Adding large paragraphs to make your website look like it took a lot of time to make will probably overwhelm the user. When I read this part in the book, I looked back at myself. I do this for every website I go on. I don't read every little thing and if a website does have a lot of information I usually skip it or just exit out of it.
As a website creator, we picture the person coming onto our page to be more attentive than they actually are. In reality, users like the most simplistic form. Think about how many people will come onto your website if it's successful... People of all ages, backgrounds and education level. That being said, make it easy for everyone to navigate your site.
Users tend to click on words or phrases that will catch their eyes. If they are looking for something in particular, they only be looking for that word on your website. The book refers to web users as sharks because they try to get things done quickly. Another example of this is Gary Larson's comparison of dogs. Compare what you tell dogs vs. what they actually hear. Web users are the same: you give them all these options, but they are actually looking for one thing; and that one thing is what they will look for or leave your website if they aren't interested.
If a user doesn't really know what's going on with the web, chances are they will figure it out. Meaning web users muddle through the Internet, according to the book. In muddling, web users figure out how to do things and in the end figure out why they were on your site in the first place.
I learned to not make the user think. Things should at least be self-explanatory for the user. This means I should make my website as evident to any person who may not even know how to use the Internet. You don't want your audience to get into your website and think: where should I start? Because chances are they came on your website for a reason and if they can't find what they're looking for off the bat, your website needs to be improved. Another thing is you should make the icons on your page easy to know if they are clickable. You don't want the web user to question that because the website should be easy for the user to skim and understand. The biggest thing I learned from Chapter One was to get rid of the question marks for your audience. So, when creating your website, if you have questions about something, change it because your someone may be questioning the same thing when they click on your website.
"On the internet, the competition is always one click away, so if you frustrate users they'll head somewhere else." This quote was stuck in my head while I read the rest of the chapters. It's true, if you're website is confusing chances are someone else's website, with the same content, isn't. So, make your website as easy to navigate as possible for the web users.
Another thing I learned from Mr. Krug is that people will scan through your website. Adding large paragraphs to make your website look like it took a lot of time to make will probably overwhelm the user. When I read this part in the book, I looked back at myself. I do this for every website I go on. I don't read every little thing and if a website does have a lot of information I usually skip it or just exit out of it.
As a website creator, we picture the person coming onto our page to be more attentive than they actually are. In reality, users like the most simplistic form. Think about how many people will come onto your website if it's successful... People of all ages, backgrounds and education level. That being said, make it easy for everyone to navigate your site.
Users tend to click on words or phrases that will catch their eyes. If they are looking for something in particular, they only be looking for that word on your website. The book refers to web users as sharks because they try to get things done quickly. Another example of this is Gary Larson's comparison of dogs. Compare what you tell dogs vs. what they actually hear. Web users are the same: you give them all these options, but they are actually looking for one thing; and that one thing is what they will look for or leave your website if they aren't interested.
If a user doesn't really know what's going on with the web, chances are they will figure it out. Meaning web users muddle through the Internet, according to the book. In muddling, web users figure out how to do things and in the end figure out why they were on your site in the first place.
Comments
Post a Comment