Laura Villalobos
GRPH 312
February 17, 2013
Response to Don’t Make
Me Think:
Chapters 1-6
Chapter one of Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug outlines the importance of making
websites easy for users to navigate, by not making them think about the layout
of the site. The key to achieve this goal is by making pages within the website
that are obvious and self evident. People should be able to comprehend the
website at first glance, instead of taking the time to understand every single
part of the page. A few tactics a designer can use to make the website easier
to understand is by using simple word choices, and making searches within the
site more generalized. For example, Google allows the user to search things in
a general way. If there is a list of categories and subjects to search within,
the user can get lost in the variety of options. As a designer, you want people
to be able to easily access and facilitate your site so that they will not
wonder off to another website that is simpler to comprehend.
Chapter two of the book focused on
the general facts of web users and ways that they relate to websites. Due to
the fast-pace lifestyle of most people, people scan things rather than reading
them. Instead of choosing the best
option, people often lean towards the first reasonable option they see. People
do not take the time to read the instructions when it comes to technology, they
would rather figure things out for themselves. Keeping these facts in mind, it
is easier for a web designer to understand what people are looking for in a
website and how it should be designed to cater to their needs.
Knowing that readers skim through things,
Chapter three gives five facts that will assist the designer in creating a web
page that can be scanned by the user. The first step is creating a page that
has clear, visual hierarchy. This can be attained by emphasizing the important
information and making it prominent. Taking advantage of conventions occurs
when designers use layouts that people are preconditioned to respond to.
For example, newspapers have an established
format of information that people can easily understand. Breaking up pages into
clearly defined areas, helps the viewer to know where things are according to
their grouping. Another way to make things clear is by making it obvious what
things are clickable and what things are not. The final aspect is minimizing
noise on the page by keeping the layout simple and not having everything
rallying for the user’s attention.
Chapter four explains why users like
mindless options. Users enjoy mindless options because they do not need to be
conflicted or puzzle as to whether they are clicking the right thing. Each
click within the site should reassure the user that they are in the right
place.
Chapter five emphasizes the
importance of word choice. Needless words should be omitted from the site, in
order to create a clear and concise establishment of information.
There
is no need for “fluff” paragraphs and sentences that hold no specific meaning.
The
benefit of not using pointless words is that there is less noise on the page,
and the page is shortened to contain only the important information.
Overall, I thought that these
chapters provided many useful tips for designing a successful website. In
reading through the book, I could put myself in the shoes of the web users and
think about what I would respond well to when looking at a web page. In
summary, a
web page should be simple, easy to understand, and easy to navigate.
Examples of Clear Websites:
