"Don't Make Me Think" Review

I liked "Don’t Make Me Think" and I thought it was a pretty interesting book. As an avid and frequent user of the Internet, a lot of this seemed like common sense to me. It’s true…when I’m looking at a webpage, I tend to click on the first thing that appears to be what I’m looking for and I always just scan over pages unless its information that I absolutely need. So if I was reading this book and trying to create a website I would want to make it user friendly and easily accessible. However, I say that, as I’m sure a lot of people do, but then when it comes time to create your website you get so caught up in trying to make it the best that you stop concerning yourself with the most important thing – the people who will be visiting your site. 

I really enjoyed his idea of satisficing. I hadn't thought about it before but after reading this I realized that that is actually a pretty accurate fact. We don't necessarily choose the best option but rather the first reasonable option. When you're looking for something on the Internet you don't always know what the best option is but you try to pick one that seems reasonable in scope. If we knew the best option to our answer we probably wouldn't need to be looking it up online in the first place. 

If I was creating my own website I would want to have clearly defined pages and "dummy-proof" tabs, if you will. That way people know exactly what to click on to find what they're looking for. Less is more. It's important not to clutter up your website with noise and busy-ness. A simple template that looks nice and clean is always easier for a visitor to navigate. The fancier you get, the more overwhelmed your visitor could get. I would make sure my homepage has all the important elements that Krug lists like the site identity and mission, site hierarchy, a search box, teases that entice people to continue looking, etc. I also like the idea of recruiting people to test out your website before you actually launch it. It's always nice to get feedback and a lot of times you don't always catch your own mistakes or wrong-doings so another set of eyes can be valuable. 

I am actually in the process of making a website for myself right now. As a telecommunications major, seeking job opportunities, I also want people to be able to seek me out. Having a website with my work can help get my name out there, its a great way for me to let people know how they can easily access my work and it allows employers to find me who I may never have even considered in my job search. Now that I know this book exists, I might find myself referencing it for good tips on how to make my website top-notch. Granted it won't be nearly as complex as most websites out there, like Amazon, but that doesn't mean it can't be appealing and easy to navigate, with a little bit of sizzle, of course.