Don't Make Me Think

Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think revolutionized how designers approach usability by introducing a simple yet profound rule: if users have to stop and think about how to use your website, you’ve failed them. Every design decision—from button placement to menu structure—should make the next step obvious.

Krug argues that people online behave like “lazy but clever” hunters. They don’t read instructions or explore deeply—they rely on instinct and visual cues. If something looks clickable, they’ll click it; if it doesn’t work as expected, they’ll leave. The average user’s patience is measured in seconds.

He illustrates this with examples like online forms that ask for unnecessary information. Imagine a form that requires you to enter your middle name or confirm your email address twice. Those small annoyances add up, making users feel frustrated and disrespected. In contrast, services like Stripe’s checkout flow succeed because they minimize friction—few fields, clear progress bars, and immediate confirmation.

Krug’s “First Law of Usability”— Don’t make me think —isn’t about dumbing things down. It’s about eliminating cognitive friction, the mental effort required to interpret what should be obvious.

How Users Actually Use Websites

Krug dismantles the myth that users carefully read and evaluate everything on a page. In reality, they act impulsively. He observes that users:

He compares this to how we shop in supermarkets. You don’t study every cereal box—you grab the one with the color or logo you recognize. Similarly, online users look for the first link that feels right.

For example, if someone visits an airline website to find baggage fees, they’ll scan for a word like “Baggage,” “Travel Info,” or “Help.” If none of these appear quickly, they’ll hit the back button.

Krug advises designers to embrace this behavior rather than fight it. That means:

• Using clear, familiar labels. Avoid cleverness—“Our Story” is better than “The Journey Begins.”

• Structuring pages for scanning. Break text into chunks, use headings, and highlight keywords.

• Front-loading key information. Follow the journalistic “inverted pyramid” model—start with the most important message.

A prime example is BBC News, where every story starts with a short summary and bold headline. Readers can skim dozens of stories and still grasp the essentials.

Visual Hierarchy: Directing Attention

Krug emphasizes that visual hierarchy is usability made visible. It’s how you tell users what’s important without words.

Hierarchy is established through:

• Size and weight: Larger or bolder elements attract the eye.

• Color and contrast: Bright colors highlight calls to action.

• Spacing and grouping: Related items should appear together.

• Position: Users naturally scan in patterns—left to right, top to bottom.

For instance, on a Netflix homepage, the “Play” button stands out in bright red against darker backgrounds. Users don’t need to read instructions—they intuitively know what to click. Similarly, Amazon’s “Add to Cart” button is large and brightly colored, making it the visual endpoint of every product page.

Krug also warns against overloading pages with too many competing focal points. When ...