Don't Make Me Think, Revisited

Description of the article « Don't Make Me Think, Revisited »

If people get lost on your website or app, Don't Make Me Think, Revisited explains why. Steve Krug's central idea is simple: every page should be self-evident, so visitors understand it without having to stop and puzzle it out.

What you'll learn

Krug shows how people really use the web. They scan instead of reading, click the first reasonable option, and muddle through rather than work out how things are meant to function. From there he covers clear navigation, page layouts that make the important things obvious, and writing that cuts the words visitors skip anyway.

The third edition covers mobile sites and apps as well as accessibility, and keeps Krug's chapter on running simple usability tests yourself.

Who it's for

It's the book most often recommended as a first read on usability, for designers, developers, product managers and anyone responsible for a website. You need no design background, and the short chapters, cartoons and screenshots make it quick to get through.

It's deliberately short, so it won't teach you research methods in depth. To put its testing advice into practice, Krug's follow-up, Rocket Surgery Made Easy, is a step-by-step guide.