Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability: Amazon.ca: Steve Krug: Books

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From Amazon.co.uk

Usability design is one of the most important though often least attractive tasks for a Web developer. In Don't Make Me Think, author Steve Krug lightens up the subject with good humour 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 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

Product Description

People won't use your web site if they can't find their way around it. Whether you call it usability, ease-of-use, or just good design, companies staking their fortunes and their futures on their Web sites are starting to recognize that it's a bottom-line issue. In Don't Make Me Think, usability expert Steve Krug distills his years of experience and observation into clear, practical--and often amusing--common sense advice for the people in the trenches (the designers, programmers, writers, editors, and Webmasters), the people who tell them what to do (project managers, business planners, and marketing people), and even the people who sign the checks.

Krug's clearly explained, easily absorbed principles will help you sleep better at night knowing that all the hard work going into your site is producing something that people will actually want to use.

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221 Reviews

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4.7 out of 5 stars (221 customer reviews)

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading But Has Serious Flaws, Oct 31 2002

By

Robert Roberts - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Paperback)

Mr. Krug thoughtfully points out usability issues that every web developer should be aware of, and his points are well-considered ones. But there are some serious flaws. To begin with is his definition of "usability" -- usability for whom? Mr. Krug completely ignores web accessibility issues for persons with disabilities. The web-viewing public he is concerned with have no disabilities that make reading pages difficult or impossible, do not use assistive technologies, or do not use old browsers. The author fails to mention that approximately 20% of web surfers have some form of disability, and fails to suggest online or book resources for learning more about this issue. Designing for ALL surfers is not, as he would put it, 'rocket surgery'. Is he really unaware of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as put forth by the W3C or of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act? His sections about navigation are absurdly one-sided. Does he truly think that javascripted navigation, or navigation with tabs are universally usable?

Secondly, the author is still stuck in largely tables-based HTML presentation methods. Usability means building a site that works on hand-held and telephonic devices as well as assistive interenet devices. This can be accomplished through XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets. In fact, separating markup from presentation is a large part of what Mr. Krug should be discussing, but doesn't.

Thirdly, Mr. Krug's examples are of large, well-branded sites. That's fine, but his comments and suggestions seem best-suited to those sites, not small business or other small-site needs. This shows in his lack of information about designing pages that will expedite search engine effectiveness. In fact, he outright dismisses the usefulness of the introductory paragraph often found on homepages as "happy talk", stating that "happy talk must die" (p. 46). Many search engines print this paragraph, or a portion of it, as part of the information you see when you're searching for a topic. Why not tell developers how to utilize this paragraph to advantage? Is it because his examples are large sites with well-known branding that don't require additional information? The wording of that paragraph can make or break a search engine user's decision about visiting a site.

Even though it is painfully lacking in some very vital information, Mr. Krug's book is worth reading. However, a savvy developer will not take everything he says as gospel, but will continue to learn more about what usability *really* is, what new developments are coming 'round the bend, and will seek out more fully-rounded information before committing development hours and money just to end up with a half-usable site.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to Web Usability, Jun 23 2004

By

Richard Stoehr "Idle Rich" (Bremerton, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Paperback)

If there's a book to use when introducing someone to the ideas of usability on the Web, I'd have to say that I think this is it. Not Nielsen, and not Cooper (at least not to start with). Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think" has the most no-nonsense and easy-to-follow approach I think I've ever seen, and best of all, he makes SENSE.

First of all, Krug deconstructs some of the sites we all know and use often, and he does so to help us see what we should be doing, as well as what we should not. I remember being especially impressed with his in-depth analysis of Amazon.com's navigation scheme (Chapter 6 - "Street Signs and Breadcrumbs"), from the use of tabs to the structure of the sub-navigation to color changes, he covers it all with a sense of humor, clear pictorial examples, a sharp eye for detail, and a clear concise explanation of what works and why. The reader is left with a greater understanding of not only why Amazon has been so successful, but also what choices they made that helped them find this solution.

The chapter on usability testing (Chapter 9 - "Usability Testing on 10 cents a day") was another fine example of clear communication and great ideas. Krug's breakdown of how the usability process should be conducted, and why it's needed in the first place, is concise and not preachy, as some usability authors are, and it really gives the reader an excellent idea of how they can fit usability into their process. This is probably the best way to "sell" usability to someone, and he does a great job of it.

The whole book is like that, really, but those chapters were highlights in the book for me. His ideas on simplicity of presentation and home page design were also well-taken, both as a designer and as someone who uses the web. Perhaps that is what makes his book so excellent, is that really, anyone could get something out of it. Whether it's the person who surfs the web now and again or the one who designs the pages for it or the one who's paying for the person to design pages for it, anyone could read this book and benefit from it, without having to wade through piles of needless verbage or proselytizing.

In the end, "Don't Make Me Think" seems to be an example of what it advises... it keeps things simple and accessible for a wide variety of people, and thereby makes itself useful as an excellent resource. The next time someone asks me what Web usability is all about, this is the first book I'll be recommending to them.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading, July 5 2004

By

Rachael Hoffman "Rae" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Paperback)

This book should be required reading for not only web designers, but anyone who owns a website. The book was a bit on the thin side and when I got it I thought it should have been thicker for the money. I was wrong.

This book takes you through every facet of usability and is as applicable to a single person with one site as it is to a multi-level corporation who owns 30 sites. His writing style is fun and humorous and the book is an easy read.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Web designers
Geez, I wish every web designer would read this book. Most websites are just terrible. It's true, who wants to think when they just want to find information or use a website... Read more

Published on Feb 14 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't design your website without this book!
This book is a definite MUST HAVE for any website designer, newbie to web design and anyone and everyone who has an online business. Read more

Published on Jun 22 2004