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

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.

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.

The basic idea that I took from this book is that most people design for the web from a top down "how do we push this data out to everyone" and end up with unusable, hard to understand pages. When you flip the perspective and design from the web user point of view, and ask "how do I find this information," you end up with something much much more usable and friendly to navigate.Excellent book, easy to read, and extremely informative.

Finished this short but informative book in 2 days. Steve Krugs gives advice on avoiding common usabilities issues.With that, here are a few things I picked up.- Test rather than argue with your team.- Users read in a hurry, so kill the noise by having less design and small talk, while filling the page up with unique content.- Avoiding ads on your home page, even though it has the highest traffic.- Provide aid for lost users. That includes a way to get to the home page, a site id, and other means of understanding their location. - Test each stage of your project at least once. The earlier the testing, the cheaper to repair.

Written to be read on an airplane ride (about two hours), Steve Krug keeps simple some very powerful concepts. to be carefully considered and ardently adhered to in Web Usability. This book over-delivers on its promise to provide "A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability." Easy to Read and very informative. Krug not only tells Why we should strive to not make people think when they come to our websites, but he also shares and summarizes years of his own primary research. I'm a learner so I really enjoyed the theory of usability with credentialed authoritative resources. but I also love to take action and Krug also gives steps to take and a clear path of things to do and not do to make your site more usable and you visitors less likely to push the back button.Just under 200 pages, "Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition" has found its way onto a coveted spot within my key resource books on my desk. I have referred to it more times than I thought I would. I have sticky tabs on page 85 which refers to the Trunk Test; Page 99 which outlines the 4 Question Bounce Test; and Page 107 which describes "the fifth question." Krug lays out Guiding Principles, Things You Need to Get Right (Navigation and Home Page) and Making Sure You Got Them Right (Usability Testing) that are easy to follow and exciting to implement. He shows us how to do "Usability Testing on 10 cents a Day." Krug thoroughly covers usability testing in his followup book called Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability ProblemsSteve Krug inserts numerous resources and reference materials which have also found there way to my bookmarked sites and reference shelf. Two of his suggested reference books that I use the most are Web Application Design Handbook: Best Practices for Web-Based Software (Interactive Technologies) and Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web SitesSorry for the lengthy review but this book isn't inexpensive at $40 US, but well worth the investment. I was reluctant at first glance to pay the $40, but I'm glad I did. I just wanted to take the appropriate time to show you why I thought so. Have a good read, I hope you get as much out of it as I did.