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| Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition | 
 enlarge | Author: Steve Krug
Publisher: New Riders Press
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $21.99
You Save: $18.01 (45%)
Buy New/Used from $20.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  (420 reviews)
Sales Rank: 460
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 216
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.7 x 0.4
ISBN: 0321344758
Dewey Decimal Number: 006.7
EAN: 9780321344755
ASIN: 0321344758
Publication Date: August 28, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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 lightens up the subject with good humor and excellent, to-the-point examples. The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques, and examples presented revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions, such as "We don't read pages--we scan them" and "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through." Coming to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces topnotch sites. Using an attractive mix of full-color screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams, and informative sidebars, the book keeps your attention and drives home some crucial points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the "before and after" examples are superb. Topics such as the wise use of rollovers and usability testing are covered using a consistently practical approach. This is the type of book you can blow through in a couple of evenings. But despite its conciseness, it will give you an expert's ability to judge Web design. You'll never form a first impression of a site in the same way again. --Stephen W. Plain Topics covered: - User patterns
- Designing for scanning
- Wise use of copy
- Navigation design
- Home page layout
- Usability testing
Product Description
Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first published, it's hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who hasn't read Steve Krug's "instant classic" on Web usability, but people are still discovering it every day. In this second edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don't be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design.
Three New Chapters!
- Usability as common courtesy -- Why people really leave Web sites
- Web Accessibility, CSS, and you -- Making sites usable and accessible
- Help! My boss wants me to ______. -- Surviving executive design whims
"I thought usability was the enemy of design until I read the first edition of this book. Don't Make Me Think! showed me how to put myself in the position of the person who uses my site. After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book.
In this second edition, Steve Krug adds essential ammunition for those whose bosses, clients, stakeholders, and marketing managers insist on doing the wrong thing. If you design, write, program, own, or manage Web sites, you must read this book." -- Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards
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| Customer Reviews: Read 415 more reviews...
 Improve Your Website May 13, 2008
I'll bet that every person who builds a web site, personal or commercial, big or small, thinks that, even if it has a few faults, it's pretty good. I'm not certain that people who visit sites have as charitable a view. Steve Krug believes that the visitors' views could be improved with a common sense approach to web usability.
The theme is set out in the title. Web users don't want to have to think. In order to incorporate that fact into web sites, Krug sets out some simple concepts for web designers to follow. I hesitate to list these rules because they are so simple that if you read a summary here, and pay attention to them, you almost don't need to buy this book. But Krug's skill is in convincing you that you should take his advice, and suggesting how to implement it. His guidance is simple, including: design pages for scanning, not reading; make sure the user knows where he is on the site through navigation design; and test sites with real users.
The author suggests that the book is so short it can be read on a longish airplane ride. But the points he makes are so important that everyone responsible for a web site, whether designer or CEO needs to be reminded of them. I know that I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to usability, but I came up with several tips for quickly improving my web site as I read the book. (I also saw a few weaknesses in my site that the author identified that weren't so easy to correct quickly, but I'm working on those problems.) Moreover, while I didn't laugh out loud, I found the book so good natured that it was easy to become absorbed.
The book has little of a technical nature about browsers or web authoring software, but instead deals with a few broad principles of web usability. That's enough reason to recommend that everyone with a web site of any kind should read this book, especially since it is so easy to go through. I can't guarantee you will find something of use, but I'd love to get your URL if you don't.
excellent May 12, 2008
I am a web UI developer and I have bought a lot of books already including (theory and implementation books)but no book has been as useful as this book so far.
 Easy To Read April 22, 2008
I can't honestly say that I learned a lot from this book, but I considered it to be a very accessible book, and it explains the topic well, along with sharing some important ideas and some specific recommendations. I'm glad I read it, although it hasn't really altered the way I work very much.
Interesting look at Websites April 10, 2008
Many of Krug's findings are very true and helpful to analyzing the effectiveness and usefulness of a website! I appreciated the short length of the book, but at times still found myself skimming some parts. Overall a worthwhile read!
 Good for beginners April 3, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought and read this book a few years ago, and when I picked it up for a second read-through last week, I realized that even though the book deals with "timeless" topics, it is starting to be a bit dated. Especially the examples and illustrations put it out of date.
The text and thoughts behind the process are still valid, but needs better reference material to be relevant for today. If you can pick it up cheap, then it is still a good read/buy though.
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