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Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first
published, it's hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who
hasn't read Steve Krug's "instant classic" on Web usability, but
people are still discovering it every day. In this second
edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the same style as the
original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and
practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don't be surprised
if it completely changes the way you think about Web design.
Three New Chapters!
Usability design is one of the most important--yet often least attractive--tasks for a Web developer. In Don't Make Me Think, author Steve Krug lightens up the subject with good humor and excellent, to-the-point examples.
The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques, and examples presented 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, such as "We don't read pages--we scan them" and "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through." Coming to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces topnotch sites.
Using an attractive mix of full-color 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 of 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
Topics covered:
Web Usability at its simplestReviewed by L. Carter, 2010-03-04
This really is a beautiful book. It does a wonderful job of
following its own principles. Not only is it clear and simple, but
also very effective. Many of the examples are really out of date,
but the ideas that they illustrate continue to be evident
throughout websites.
If you desire to learn more about simple web usability, this book
is a must-read.
Direct and Simple Guidance for Designing Functional WebsitesReviewed by Matthias Martin, 2010-02-17
Widely regarded as the best book on web usability, this short, concise, and fun to read book covers all of the basics of web designing for optimal user experience. It won't address specific issues that you may be dealing with on your site, but it will guide you on how to address them, and what process one should undertake throughout to produce results as easily, quickly, and cheaply as possible. The book is full of simple and very valuable facts that come from studies and Krug's experience as a consultant for both major companies and small home businesses. Following Krug's advice might not get you the perfect site for your purposes, but it won't be far off. There is a great list of suggested reading in the back as well for more specific guidance. For anyone who designs web sites, this is a must read.
Stick to the basicsReviewed by Rajeev Pokkyarath, 2010-02-13
My first impression was that this book was way too basic...but then, on second thoughts, the problem with most UI designs is that the basics are ignored while we are in search of the holy grail. Steve Krug identifies the fundamental tenets of UI design (simplicity, self-explanatory, design for scanning, importance of navigational elements etc.) and reminds us to internalize them. All the points mentioned in the book should be self-evident and obvious; if we take enough time to step back and think about these things one will naturally come to these conclusions. The value I see in this book is not in any new ideas or techniques it introduces, but in identifying the basics and reminding us not to stray from them. In summary, the book reminds me the quote of an accomplished designer, "it is only by remaining as close as possible to the pure function of the object that beauty can be achieved"
A useful book for the spectrum of people involved in building
websitesReviewed by Bradford G. Palin, 2010-01-31
Don't Make Me Think, 2nd edition, is about building usability into
websites from the start, not adding it on at the end. Thus, the
author spends time on usability considerations during the design
and development process.
Having been working with websites for several years, I was already
familiar with much of the material, but not all. I was happy for
the coverage of user testing - that is something I will need to do
more of when working on consulting projects.
Admittedly, there was not much material here that I was not already
aware of, and much of it is common-sense type stuff, but there were
useful tidbits throughout. Plus it is nice to have all this
information in a slim and concise volume. As a result, I will be
able to quickly review it whenever getting into a new project, just
so I know I am planning it right from the start.
This slim book distills much wisdom surrounding website usability,
and is worth a read for anyone involved in the process of building
a website.
Your "Don't make me think" was inspiring--I wrote a couple of new
blog entries as a resultReviewed by Pierre Khawand, 2010-01-22
Steve's book not only had some awesome usability concepts and practical advice and techniques, but I really liked the writing style as well and the examples given. It inspired me not only in our latest website design, but also in writing a few blog entries to my audience about "reudcing the clutter in their to-do lists" (similar to what Steve suggests in web pages) and I also worte an "e-mail to managers" who tend to interrupt their staff and hinder their productivity (similar to the e-mail that Steve has written to managers and executives who may interfere with usability unknowingly). Thank you for a great book (it is actually more than a book, more of a philosophy and a methodology) and also for the inspiring writing and thinking style! When you get this book, expect that you are going to get from it more than what you expected, and probably additional/different things from what you have expected.
