Great read: "Don't Make Me Think, Revisited"- Steve Krug

All of the tips and guidelines that Steve Krug presents us in his book, “Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited” are very helpful and will lead to website success if correctly followed. This books definitely opened my eyes to what actually makes a great website. Something that Krug said that really stuck with me was, “Don’t make me think!” Do not let a viewer of your website be confused. Nothing should be confusing about a website, the viewer should be able to easily access and understand what the website is trying to accomplish.

Krug also makes a great point about how we believe people use web sites and how they actually use them. When I am browsing a web page, I am not looking at every single detail and page. I am looking at what I opened the web site for in the first place and once I find it, I leave the page.

Another concept that really struck me by surprise is a quote from Krug’s Third Law of Usability, “Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what’s left.” This is pretty interesting and definitely was news to me. I always feel like people try and write tons of words and it has always seemed so repetitive to me. As a reader, a website is definitely more appealing to my eyes when there is very limited writing. There is no need for unnecessary words and sentences. This is a concept that publishers of websites should take into consideration more often. Following the concept of not including unnecessary words, Krug discusses in chapter four that it should never take more than three, four or five clicks to get to any page in the site. He includes that, “the rule of thumb might be something like three mindless, unambiguous clicks equal one click that requires thought.” A website should be easy to access and if guidance is needed, Krug says its best to keep it brief, timely and unavoidable.

When it comes to usability testing, Krug recommends to keep it simple and often. There is too much pressure to wait until the site is close to being launched to do extensive usability testing. It just makes everything difficult and can be avoided. Something that I struggle with is procrastination, which is something that cannot happen when it comes to a web site. After reading Krug’s book I have realized that it is always best to stay one step ahead of the game to avoid problems and stress with your website.

Krug discusses what an employee can do to better a web site’s usability and how to approach the situation with your boss and their boss too. When your businesses website has a low usability level it is your responsibility as the owner or employee to make it better and to keep it simple. In my opinion, I would definitely want to make changes to make my businesses website the best it could be and if that takes a few uncomfortable conversations and questioning someone’s judgment of the site, then so be it.

All in all, Krug provided me with some very important concepts and guidelines that I will keep with me from here on out when creating websites. Technology is continuous developing and online web sites are surely booming.