Summary of "Don't Make Me Think"

Core Idea

Users scan, don't read — Make every page instantly clear; remove friction and mental effort
Test with real users monthly — One person using your site beats endless internal debates; start before you've built anything
Every question mark costs you — Clarity and convention beat innovation; omit needless words and choices

Every page needs: site ID, page name, main sections, search box, "you are here" indicator, Home button
Use conventions ruthlessly — Familiar patterns reduce cognitive load; only innovate when genuinely improving existing solutions
Visual hierarchy wins — Make important things prominent; nest related items; signal clickability clearly with obvious affordances
Avoid hover states on mobile — Touch screens can't hover; use visible buttons and obvious tap targets instead

State your mission first — Answer "What is this?" in a 6-8 word tagline; don't bury your value proposition
One clear entry point per user type — Provide search, browse categories, and a main call-to-action
Cut feature overload — Every promo depletes goodwill; ruthlessly prioritize; say half the words, then cut half again

Show prices, shipping, support numbers upfront — Hiding information erodes trust; transparency converts
Eliminate friction — Auto-fill forms, provide tracking, remember preferences, make error recovery obvious
Be a mensch — Prioritize user benefit over tricks; manipulation backfires; save users steps

Fix usability problems first — Confusing interfaces harm everyone; clarity benefits all users
Four quick wins: alt text on images, proper heading hierarchy, labeled form fields, skip-to-content link
Good design for disabled users works better for everyone — Accessibility and usability are inseparable

Recruit loosely, test often — One rough test beats zero perfect ones; start before design is final
Watch users do real tasks — Don't explain or help unless hopelessly stuck; observe what actually fails
Fix the top 3–5 problems — Focus on most serious issues first; you'll find more than you can fix
Get stakeholders in the room — Watching real users fail changes minds instantly; beats any presentation

Run one live test for executives — Live observation trumps data; seeing users struggle converts skeptics
Test competitors first — Safe, low-risk way to prove usability value without threatening internal work
Do the first test yourself — Prove ROI through metrics: support calls, task completion, time-on-task
Know your role — You advocate for users with humility, data, and persistence—don't dictate design

This week: Run one 3-user test on a competitor site or your own confusing page; identify top 3 problems
This month: Schedule a recurring monthly test day (e.g., third Thursday); recruit 3 users; invite 1 stakeholder to observe
Next 30 days: Implement fixes for the 5 most serious usability problems found
Ongoing: Test monthly; measure impact (task completion, support tickets, time-on-task); resist feature creep
Always ask: "Does this make users think?" — If yes, simplify it