Review of Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web and Mobile Usability."

             Websites are vital, all around in general, in this day and age. They’ve become pretty much our go-to method for either finding general information, conducting extensive research, or to advertise a person or company. A lot about websites has changed, particularly in the last five to ten years. Before, we would see websites cluttered with a vast majority of information. Now with the advent of technology such as tablets and smartphones, everyone seems to be designing their websites to be easy particularly with people who are always on the go. Steve Krug makes a good argument about this overall website design concept in his book, “Don’t Make Me Think Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web (and Mobile) Usability.” Throughout his book, Krug makes a point to teach us how to effectively create and operate a web site that gets the message across, without having to be too complex.

            Before the Internet, our main sources for news and information were broadcast mediums such as radio and television, and print mediums like newspapers and magazines. There’s just that thing about growing up with newspapers: anxiously awaiting to read the paper over breakfast when you wake up in the morning, and also getting to read long, in-depth articles. Nowadays, people don’t want to wait until the next morning or a certain time of day to consume their news. With websites, and especially mobile technology, people crave their news and information every second. And they also don’t like to read long pieces as found in the daily paper, but instead they prefer very short pieces. Krug says with people on the go constantly condensing information is key, allowing people to skim websites for particular information and articles. Also, when creating a website, he tells us to “get rid of the question marks.” Instead of making it difficult for the user to decipher where to particularly point out information, put simple key words or phrases as page titles or links.

            Krug also points out the importance of each page having a title and each website having a search box. Also, unlike some websites that may have been like this many years ago, websites today don’t need to be cluttered with a bunch of different information on the home page, confusing the user. Remember, make it as easy on the user as possible and try not to make them think. Krug goes on to tell us the “Home” page is the most desirable piece of real estate on a website. He also introduces us to the “Big Bang Theory of Web Design” where the first few seconds someone spends on a website are the most critical. Tag lines are also beneficial to a website because they’re the one place next to the Site ID that explains the website’s purpose and to help ultimately draw in the viewer’s attention.

            Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Krug’s book on web and mobile usability. It really brings in full circle where we are now when it comes to websites compared to where we were just five to ten years ago. It also provides some very helpful tips for maintaining a successful website. If you’re looking to create and maintain a good, successful website, I would definitely recommend reading Krug’s book first as a good guide to help build the foundation for your site’s success.