Don't Make Me Think, Revisited

Technology

First published: 2000
Print length: 200 pagesPeachpit, 2014

Description

Steve Krug begins with a blunt principle: a website should not force visitors to puzzle out where they are, what they can do, or where to click next. Drawing on professional usability work, he explains how navigation, visual hierarchy, concise wording, and familiar conventions reduce unnecessary thought. The practical discussion also addresses why users abandon sites, how accessibility strengthens design, and how teams can conduct useful testing without elaborate budgets. Krug treats executive preferences and internal arguments as design constraints that must be managed rather than ignored. Written for designers, developers, managers, and other decision-makers, the guide offers a compact way to evaluate web pages from the user’s perspective and correct friction before it becomes failure.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Conversational · Direct · Witty

Pace

Brisk

Tone

Earnest · Humorous · Irreverent

Structure

Argumentative · Reference

Focus

Argument · Ideas · Information

Emotional intensity

1 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 2 / 5
Ideas: 2 / 5
Structure: 2 / 5
Background knowledge: 1 / 5

Themes

Art and creativityKnowledge and truthTechnology and societyWork

About Steve Krug

Steve Krug is an information architect and user-experience professional whose writing turns web usability into a practical discipline for designers, developers, and others responsible for digital products. His best-known book, Don’t Make Me Think, published in 2000, begins from a durable principle: people should not have to puzzle out where they are, what they can do, or where to click. Krug develops that principle through concise explanations, visual examples, case studies, and exercises, focusing on how users scan pages and respond to navigation, wording, hierarchy, and familiar conventions. The direct, conversational method reflects his broader work as the head of the consulting firm Advanced Common Sense. Alongside advising clients on web usability, he teaches in-house workshops on conducting usability tests without elaborate research teams. Rocket Surgery Made Easy extends this do-it-yourself approach, concentrating on finding and correcting usability problems. Across his work, Krug’s distinction is his insistence that close observation, clarity, and small practical tests can make usability an everyday responsibility rather than a specialist concern.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Peachpit
Language: English
ISBN: 9780321965516

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