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 as common courtesy -- Why people really leave Web sites
Web Accessibility, CSS, and you -- Making sites usable and accessible
Help! My boss wants me to ______. -- Surviving executive design whims
"I thought usability was the enemy of design until I read the first edition of this book. Don't Make Me Think! showed me how to put myself in the position of the person who uses my site. After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book. In this second edition, Steve Krug adds essential ammunition for those whose bosses, clients, stakeholders, and marketing managers insist on doing the wrong thing. If you design, write, program, own, or manage Web sites, you must read this book." -- Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards
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:
User patterns
Designing for scanning
Wise use of copy
Navigation design
Home page layout
Usability testing
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Great book full of truths.:
If you are looking for a book with the main principles about web usability do not hesitate and buy this book. It might be a little bit outdated but 90% of the book is still totally true. Don't miss it!!
An absolutely stunning book on usability:
This book is fabulous. It is very clear and easy to read, it points out how far you can get by just using common sense (and how you can develop it if you haven't got it), includes basic design principles and human psychology as well as some pretty strong examples. It shows you how a usability test can be performed and talks about what you should focus on. I very much like the approach that there is no average user and not just one correct way to design a site. This book is of great value, a true classic and... more info
Common sense...so why did I buy it?:
Bought because it was on Joel on Software's reading list. Clear and simple, easy to understand. If picked up in a shop, I would not have bought it. - not much content, lots of whitespace, large fonts, lots of images
- common sense (ie, most of it you probably already know) Read a few pages, then sent it to a friend who is building her first website.
Reinforced Common Sense:
As the subtitle says, it is mostly common sense. But to have it reinforced like this turns judging web site designs into a much simpler task. I found myself feeling like I had confirmation for many thoughts I have on the subject, but it raised my awareness of different user view points to a higher level. One item that was quite new to me though was the subject of usability testing. He explains his approach quite well and makes it sound quite easy and very useful. If nothing else, it gives you a sense of... more info
