Don't Make me Think!

I am a web analyst. I have been analysing the web since the dawn of September, and I don’t intend to stop anytime soon. I can analyze anything on the web, from the website I work on (Bookatable.com) to this humble blog. If my gmail account has access and the data is tracked in Google Analytics, I‘m set. Versatile, no? Anyway, I was handed a copy of Steve Krug’s ‘Don’t Make Me Think!’ by my boss, along with the advice to “read it, sleep with it and have it memorized by next week“. Sadly I failed to accomplish two of the three appointed tasks (I shall let you guess which), but I have been able to absorb enough to compile a review.

Steve Krug is a web usability expert, and the book was designed to be a short guide to giving you a better website. If this doesn’t get you excited, then you may not wish to read the book, or indeed the rest of this review. You would, of course, be foolish to adopt this opinion (and by extension not adopt mine). Krug’s principles of web usability can be extended to any creative endeavour. One such nugget of gold, that you should get rid of half the words on a given webpage, and then get rid of half of the remaining words, could easily apply to a late period James Cameron film, or a Stephen King novel.

Perhaps my favourite piece of advice, though, comes when discussing how to make things as accessible as possible. He gives a load of examples where presenting something simply allows a site to be intuitive, eye friendly, and easier for people with disabilities to navigate. Alongside this comes the point that people don’t mind having things they consider obvious explained to them, provided the explanation doesn’t get in the way. This is, of course, a crucial point that is understood throughout this book. There is a huge difference between simplifying something, and dumbing it down. It’s the same reason why Pixar make such successful films. Their stories are not dumb, they are presented simply.

Of course, you’ve read this post (you are still reading this, right?) thinking ‘yes James, you are a web analyst and you like a book about the internet. So what?’ I understand your point. You will not read this book and your life will be poorer. I pity you.