3. Chapters 5 & 6 of Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think!"

Omit Needless Words

There are several beneficial effects for getting rid of all needless words:
- It reduces the noise level of th epage.
- It makes the useful content more prominent.
- It makes the pages shorter, allowing users to see more of each page at a
glance without scrolling.

Happy talk must die
- Most Web usders don't have time for small talk and want to get right to the point.
- You should eliminate as much happy talk as possible.

Instructions must die
- No one is going to read instructions at least not until after repeated attempts
at "muddling through" have failed.


Street Signs and Breadcrumbs: Designing Navigation

Web Navigation 101
- You're usually trying to find something.
- You decide whether to ask first or browse first.
- If you choose to browse, you make your way through a hierarehy, using signs to guide you.
- Eventually, if you can't find what you're looking for, you'll leave.

The unbearable lightness of browsing
- No sense of scale.
- No secnse of direction.
- No secnse oflocation.

The overlooked purposed of navigation
- It gives us something to hold on to.
- It tells us what's here.
- It tells us how to use the site.
- It gives us confidence in the people who built it.

Web navigation conventions
The conventions specify the appearance and location of the navigation elements , so we know what to look for and where to look when we need them.



Don't look now, but I think it's following us
Persistent navigation should include the five elements you most need to have on hand at all times: Site ID, A way home, A way to search, Sections, and Utilities.

Did I say every page?
There are two exceptions not to us the persistent navigation.
- The Home page
- Forms

Now I know we're not in Kansas.
The Site ID represents the whole site meaning its the highest thing in the logical hierarchy of the site.

The Sections
- are called the primary navigation.
- are the links to the main sections of the site: the top level of the site's hierarchy.

The Utilities
- These are things (Help, A Site Map, or A Shopping Cart) or information (About Us and Contact Us)
- The Utilities list should be slightly less prominent than the Sections.

Just click your heels three times and say, "There's no place like home.''
- It is a good idea to include a Home page link in either the Sections or the Utilities, or add the word "Home" discreetly to the Site ID everywhere.

A way to search
- Make it as a simple formula : a box, a button, and the word "Search."

Page names
- Every page needs a name.
- The name needs to be in the right place.
- The name needs to be prominent.
- The name needs to match what I clicked.

Using tabs for navigation is a good idea.
- They're self-evident.
- They're hard to miss.
- They're slick.
- They suggest a physical space.


Try the truck test
For good Web navigation, you should be able to answer these questions without hesitation:
- What site is this? (Sote ID)
- What page am I on? (Page name)
- What are the major sections of this site?(Sections)
- What are my options at this level? (Local navigation)
- Where am I in the scheme of things? ("You are here" indicatiors)
- How can I search?