The Russell's
"Don't Make Me Think" By: Steve Krug
Ch. 1: Don't Make Me Think!
The first and most important "law" that the author points out is that a website shouldn't make you think. It should be self-explanatory and aobvious enough that without too much effort, you will be able to use it. My homepage is a good example. It simply welcomes you and the navigation bar is easy to use. It is very clean and neat.
Ch. 2: How We Really Use The Web
The author explains that there are three facts of life that I didn't realize were true until I read, and I am the same way. The first one is: "We don't read pages, we scan them. The second one is: "We don't make optimal choices, we satisfice. The third one is: "We don't figure out how things work, we muddle through. No one sits around all day to figure something out, so as web designers we have to make a web site in such a way that they don't have to. If you look at my web site, it is not very complicated at all and can be used easily without any effort. Much of it contains pictures, lists, and bolded items so that it can be scanned easily. To give an example you can look at myAlertbox #8. This shows how bolded headings and lists make it easier to scan. My other pages are also quite easy to navigate through.
Ch. 3: Billboard Design 101
Hierarchy is the key concept taught in this chapter. If something isn't important don't make it huge. Don't try to hide your links in some obscure way. Place everything where it belongs and don't distract the user from their goal. My web site shows the basics with having the footer on the bottom, navigation bar on the left, and a logo in the top left corner linking to my homepage. My assignments page shows hierarchy very well.
Ch. 4: Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?
If your users ever have to guess what will happen when they click on a link, or if something is a link at all then it shows that the website still needs some space to improve on. My main navigation is easy to understand. My links will take you to exactly what they say. You can see those at the top of this page.
Ch. 5: Omit Needless Words
I and many other users do not and will not read pages and pages of text, especially if it is redundant information. On all of my pages(except for the chapter proofs and alertboxes) I have used very few words. For the purpose of my website and for my intended audience, I think that the pictures are more valuable than the words, which in many cases is true. If you look at my gallery and my home page, you can see that very few words are used, but for my purposes, I don't need anything else. So if you don't need it, omit it.
Ch. 6: Street Signs and Breadcrumbs
A website isn't like a mall, the user doesn't always know where they are, so the website should let them know regardless of where they are. You can use a variety of methods, but the one that I have chosen to use in my website is through the use of breadcrumbs. Take a look at the top of this page to see it yourself. You can go on any page and know where you are.
Ch. 7: The First Step In Recovery Is Admitting That The Home Page Is Beyond Your Control
If your homepage is a flop, then the rest of your site won't even matter because most of the users won't go past it. Your homepage is the most critical to be attractive, free from errors, and useful. Don't make the user scroll to see the most important data, it should be on top.My home page doesn't have a lot of information on it, but you can see me and my wife without scrolling and the necessary navigation. Those were the only things that were important.