Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques and examples presented within it revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions. For example, "We don't read pages--we scan them" and, "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through". Getting to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces top-notch sites.

Using an attractive mix of full-colour screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams, and informative sidebars, the book keeps your attention and drives home some crucial points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the "before and after" examples are superb. Topics such as the wise use of rollovers and usability testing are covered using a consistently practical approach.

This is the type of book you can blow through in a couple evenings. But despite its conciseness, it will give you an expert's ability to judge Web design. You'll never form a first impression of a site in the same way again. --Stephen W Plain

Conclusion:
The book scores a perfect 10 with its target audience: the designers, developers, project managers, producers, marketers, and those who "sign the check". Just buy it.


Short and effective, makes a powerful point   October 27, 2003
Frank Carver
31 out of 32 found this review helpful

At last, an author who follows his own advice! This book is short and easy to read (at 200 pages, I read it in a day), but surprisingly deep. The book is peppered with colour screenshots, black and white cartoons and pithy quotes and headings. A pleasure, not a chore, to read.

The basic premise is simple; people don't like hard choices or stopping to think, they just want to get something done. The more self-evident a web site is, the easier it is to use. Implementing it, and being sure you've got it right, is tricky, though. Krug covers site and page layout, navigation design, usability testing on a shoestring as well as a broad and engaging model of how people really use the web.

It doesn't deal with internationalization at all, seems to assume a mostly static site, and offers no real help in getting your idea to the web in the first place, but will help you make good choices along the way. Well worth a read, and probably worth a refresher each time you start a new project to keep you on track.


The best book on the topic I have ever read   August 26, 2003
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

The title says it all. For the novice, or casual browser, you won't find a clearer, better written or more effective book.

For the experienced IA or designer, this is a tutorial in how to communicate your ideas.

Anybody who has even a passing interest in web design should buy this book.


Essential reading for anyone involved in website production!   September 15, 2007
Sean Johnson (England)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Since reading the first edition some years ago, I always refer to this book during usability presentations and recommend it to not only designers and developers, but also consultants, project managers and even clients. When the second edition was released in 2006 I purchased a few copies for the office and made it essential reading for everyone!

It's a very easy read and doesn't complicate matters with technical jargon, but instead relates to everyday tasks such as likening finding a product on a website to looking for a chainsaw in a hardware store. It examines the way we use the internet, it highlights that people don't use websites the way the designer intended and that we don't `read' websites, we scan them. It covers popular, common-sense solutions to these issues and uses clear, well-illustrated examples. It also talks about simplifying usability testing so you do enough of it, and uses some real-world examples to demonstrate.

It is an essential purchase for anyone involved in website creation and there are three new chapters in the second edition that help justify a new purchase if you already own the first edition.


Excellent   November 30, 2001
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is a really refreshing book. Krug analyses web users' surfing habits with uncanny accuracy and points out things that are so obvious, they are so easy to disregard.

For once, this is a book that attempts to analyse great sites with minor flaws, rather than smugly 'putting the boot in' on poorly designed sites as other 'experts' often delight in.

As a Web Manager, this is a book that will be the cornerstone of subsequent projects our team take on.