Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (2nd Edition)

by Steve Krug

book data

792 ratings, 4.20 average rating, 146 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		38%
4		44%
3		13%
2		2%
1		0%

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published

August 28th 2005 (first published 2000) by New Riders Press

binding

Paperback, 224 pages

isbn

0321344758 (isbn13: 9780321344755)

description

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 lighte...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,216)

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05/16/08

Kian rated it:

Read in May, 2008

Well, this is an absolute gem of a book. I picked this up the day after finishing Beautiful Code and to be honest, really wasn't in the mood for any more particularly heavy content for a few days.

But Steve Krug makes the topic of web usability genuinely entertaing. He holds a light writing style with a touch of wit that helps to keep your attention from cover to cover. Add to that the short size of the book at only a couple of hundred pages, and the vibrant but clear layout and yo...more

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01/14/09

Coral Rose rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, non-fiction, work

I liked this book. It's like the snack food version of usability. He explains each of his points clearly, concisely, and with strong examples. There's not a lot of meaty here's-how-you-can-accomplish-this involved, which Krug claims is because there's no one answer to software/web usability, which is definitely true. Still, I would love to read a follow up about usability testing and how to use the results of such tests in development. As a relatively inexperienced computer person in software QA...more

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05/29/08

Sean Besser rated it:

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: anyone with any say over the look & feel of a commercial web page

MUST READ for anyone with any say over the look & feel of a commercial web page (designers, managers, marketing people, executives, etc.). It's a quick and easy read and is like having my own web usability consultant.

Goodreads and LOTS of other sites should have their managment teams read this.

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03/29/09

Tom rated it:

Read in April, 2009

This is my absolute favorite book on designing websites with the user in mind. Far too often websites are designed from the perspective of a salesperson, a marketer, an engineer or a designer. Far too seldom are they created from the perspective of a person who will actually use the site. Steve Krug teaches from the user's perspective, and does so without many wasted words.

The chapters in the "Things You Need to Get Right" section are my favorite, in particular Chapter 6: S...more

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11/03/08

Steven rated it:

bookshelves: technology

Read in June, 2007

recommended to Steven by: Scott Bellware
recommends it for: everyone

Ironic that this book makes the reader think - think about design and views on life, all at once. An excellent book for stimulating the brain to think and view the world in new ways.

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05/10/09

Robin rated it:

bookshelves: techie

Read in May, 2009

I had a pact with some fellow web nerds at work to read a book on usability to improve our websites. I chose this one because, like a good website, it had short pages and a lot of white space. I was pleasantly surprised to actually enjoy the content as well as the writing style. It is concise, informative, practical, and humorous. Whereas Jakob Nielsen’s classic usability books are chock-full of statistics and details, this book is a new approach to usability, stripped down to what is practica...more

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02/25/09

Tim rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Krug's title telegraphs his number one rule for usable Web design: designers should do everything they can to make site visits an exercise of existing reflexes, expectations, and established conventions. If this sounds hard, it may be. But much of Krug's advice he casts as common sense and, perhaps more tellingly, common courtesy. At its heart this is a practical and kind book. It is short, pithy, and to the point. It doesn't take itself as the last word. And it's audience is more than Web...more

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03/24/09

Jenny is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading

Not learnt much so far - just a few small things but then I have already studied Software Design and usability testing for an M.Sc. and created software which was a finalist in European Academic Software Awards ! so maybe I am not the ideal audience ! I was expecting a bit more from the book as had spent £17 but can always re-sell it. however its early days - I may report back with a change of heart.
If anyone wants to pay me half of what they pay Steve Krug to assess their software or we...more

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02/26/09

kaitlyn rated it:

It took me maybe four hours to read this book. I think I would like Steve Krug in real life. His writing style and the sense of humor that comes across through his words is really refreshing. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I don't have a Web site to design any time soon, so I'll probably have to read this when the time comes. It's a great book if this sort of thing interests you at all. Which it probably doesn't.

The best part? He totally referenced one of Vonnegut's short stories t...more

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09/13/08

Emma rated it:

Read in September, 2008

Nowadays, most students are faced with the world of HTML and computer science at some point in their academic careers. For me, the first time was in CIS 101 in college. (Yes, there was a second time. It turns out grad school does not assume computer literacy). Although it isn’t always part of the formal curriculum, usability is always an underlying theme in technology classes even if it is just a question of whether the HTML textbook is actually written in gibberish or not. Usability is also o...more Nowadays, most students are faced with the world of HTML and computer science at some point in their academic careers. For me, the first time was in CIS 101 in college. (Yes, there was a second time. It turns out grad school does not assume computer literacy). Although it isn’t always part of the formal curriculum, usability is always an underlying theme in technology classes even if it is just a question of whether the HTML textbook is actually written in gibberish or not. Usability is also one of the few fields where anyone, even the computer illiterate, can be an expert.

The idea behind usability is simple: Look at a given design and see how accessible it is for users. Anyone can have an opinion on usability and everyone can provide input. All it takes is a clear head and the patience to look at what works (or doesn’t) and why. If you use it, you have information about its usability. To get back to the subjects of Computer Science and technology, usability has lately been applied to the world of Web design.

Usability consultant Steve Krug lays out all of the basics about Web usability in his book Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability currently in its second edition, published in 2006 after the first edition sold nearly 100,000 copies.

As far as titles go, there are few that offer as clear a picture of the book’s content as this one. Krug’s main point throughout his 185-page guide is that good Web sites don’t make users think. Unlike college, Krug posits that using a conventional website should not be an intellectual exercise. It should be simple, it should be neat, and it should be self-evident. In other words, if a user cannot identify the site’s purpose, and where to start on said site, just by viewing the homepage something has gone horribly wrong.

Krug details how to fix such problems and how to avoid them with usability tests. That may sound self-serving save for the fact that Krug also explains how to conduct usability tests on the cheap without the benefit of a usability consultant such as himself.

Written in short chapters packed with illustrations, this book is designed to be approachable and easy to read. Krug is serious about Web usability, but that in no way means his book is stodgy or dry. Examples of usability at work are littered with cartoons and the text maintains a sense of humor. My favorite chapter title (and subtitle) “Usability as common courtesy: Why your Web site should be a mensch” might offer some idea of what tone to expect from this book.

Of course, taking a computer class to meet a core requirement in college doesn’t always lead to work in the field of Web design in fact most of the time it leads to an entirely different career. But, in today’s technology-driven culture, doesn’t everything come back to the Internet eventually?

It might just be working as an intern at an online magazine, or a starting position where duties include entering data into online spreadsheets, or it might just be writing your own blog on a site like WordPress or Blogger. Wherever your path leads, knowing something about Web usability and how good Web sites get that way can only help. As more and more information moves to cyberspace, with websites being created and updated all the time, it’s important to be prepared by knowing how to analyze not only the information found online but also how it is presented. Don’t Make Me Think is one tool that can assist Web users in that preparation.(less)

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02/18/08

Rob rated it:

(review of isbn 0789723107)

bookshelves: 2008, usability

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: young web professionals and UI developers

Overall, Don't Make Me Think is a solid, layman's terms examination of UI design and usability issues, particularly as those issues apply to web sites. Steve Krug presents us with a plain-English approach that just about any web professional can quickly and easily digest and then rapidly apply to his work for maximum effectiveness. That said...:

(1) The book had relatively strong start but the "lessons" start to seem a bit "commonsensical" before you get very far...more

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04/23/09

Min rated it:

bookshelves: design

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in July, 2008

The case it used is interesting. Funny real life doesn't always paralle with web life...

I always go into grocery store and grab anybody can tell me where the stuff I wanted so I can get them and leave (Search Method); while most of time on web surfing, I prefer to look through neatly organized menus and sub menus, I only hit the search box after I got frustrated that can't find what I was looking for...

Apparently I have more patience on web...

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08/21/07

Jason rated it:

bookshelves: nonfiction

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: ANY designer

If you're responsible for designing anything, website or not, read this book. Now.

It's great at explaining why usability needs to be the primary concern in developing any sort of interface. The way a user looks at a site is very different than the way a designer does, and "Don't Make Me Think" points these things out clearly and easily.

Even the title is a lesson, one of the most important in the book; "Don't Make Me Think." If the interface makes th...more

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04/20/09

Erik rated it:

Read in April, 2009

I was apprehensive to read this book because I couldn't imagine how it would live up to all of the hype and accolades it has received. I was wrong and I'm glad I finally broke down and took the plunge. Even for an experienced web designer like myself there are a few things to learn that justify the time it will take you to read. The book is written very well, is engaging and to the point.

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05/12/09

Dustin added it

bookshelves: own, technical

Read in February, 2009

My favorite part about this book is that it practices what it preaches: the book is designed to be easily read in one sitting. Ironically, though, this simply little book will make you think a LOT about the simplest things in software design that everyone takes for granted. For example, it wasn't until I read this book that I discovered the real usefulness of usability studies.

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03/23/09

Austin Storm rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Terrific book. One of the best things about it is that it's written like a good web page. Plenty of illustrations, bullet points, short paragraphs... you can read it "on one plane ride". I wish more books were written like this one! Perhaps a little dated (the examples certainly are), it's still the best book to give your boss about usability testing. =P

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01/07/08

Elizabeth rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, geek, non-fiction, twenty-first-century

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Elizabeth by: Goodreads web designers (please)!

Don't buy this book! It's a great book. It's informative, funny, and relevant, even if you don't design web sites for a living, but the physical book quality is appalling! Too bad that Steve Krug, who makes his living talking to people about how to make web sites more usable, didn't test how usuable his own book is! The graphics are streaked from poor ink and quality control. The book is $40 and not worth $5. On the other hand, when I finished it this morning at the airport, I noticed how clear ...more

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05/01/09

Ryan rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I missed the boat on this book by about five years, which is why I only gave it three stars. It includes a lot of really great ideas that probably helped shape interface and interaction design on the web, but now many of the ideas seem trite and obvious. With that said, this is a good basic interface design primer for anyone interested in making websites.

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12/08/08

Mark rated it:

Read in December, 2008

This book has several things going for it: it moves quickly, it's in a enjoyable and conversational tone, and the advice is practical and easy to follow. I wish it didn't focus almost entirely on e-commerce type sites, and I would like to a see a chapter on more involved sites like ours. I also would have liked to see a little more depth (or at least more concrete figures) when discussing usability and what makes a site more or less usable.

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05/19/09

Jordan Kvochick rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction, work-related

Read in May, 2009

recommends it for: Jonathan, web designers/developers, MRPS

This was great. A lot of common sense and some things I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. But the best thing about this book in particular was the informal, humorous writing style. It made it so much easier to pay attention! Especially because I am not a fan of reading on-screen, it was nice to have a work-related book that isn't making me fall asleep at my desk!

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quotes from this book

"If there's one thing you learn by working on a lot of different Web sites, it's that almost any design idea--no matter how appallingly bad--can be made usable in the right circumstances, with enough effort." More quotes...