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 Location:  Home » Shows » Website Architecture & Usability » Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd EditionJuly 25, 2008  


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Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
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Author: Steve Krug
Publisher: New Riders Press
Category: Book

List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $23.15
You Save: $16.85 (42%)
Buy New/Used from $23.09

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(427 reviews)
Sales Rank: 455

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

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





Customer Reviews:   Read 422 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Don't Make Me Think   July 22, 2008
Straightforward, readable, and practical. This book is a must-read for all who are designing a website or thinking about it.


5 out of 5 stars Great tips, and funny to boot!   July 9, 2008
This book gives you tips about how to set up your website so it will be more user-friendly ... and is a funny read as well! So many user manuals are long and dry, but Krug keeps the info down to the bare essentials, and makes the book highly readable and entertaining as well. Highly recommended.

[...]



5 out of 5 stars Why didn't I think of that?   July 7, 2008
Great, common sense look at how to correct all the stupid things we do to mess up our websites.


4 out of 5 stars A Great Usability Primer for Web Developers   July 3, 2008
Yes, this is an entry-level book, targeted at the people who need it most: the frontline of Web developers and "designers". The content of the 2nd edition could be updated, but Krug's non-nonsense, easy-to-read approach still makes Don't Make Me Think one of the first books I recommend to my Web development students.


4 out of 5 stars A must read   July 1, 2008
Everyone who designs web apps should have a copy of this book.


It changes how you think about Interactive architecture and page usage.



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