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Usability design is one of the most important though often least attractive tasks for a Web developer. In Don't Make Me Think, author Steve Krug lightens up the subject with good humour and excellent to-the-point examples.

The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques and examples presented within it revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions. For example, "We don't read pages--we scan them" and, "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through". Getting to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces top-notch sites.

Using an attractive mix of full-colour screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams, and informative sidebars, the book keeps your attention and drives home some crucial points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the "before and after" examples are superb. Topics such as the wise use of rollovers and usability testing are covered using a consistently practical approach.

This is the type of book you can blow through in a couple evenings. But despite its conciseness, it will give you an expert's ability to judge Web design. You'll never form a first impression of a site in the same way again. --Stephen W Plain

First things first.. this is not a book for web designers, graphic artists, developers or anyone who actually has to do these sorts of tasks for a living (or even for a hobby, for that matter). You will not learn anything from this book that you don't already know and, in fact, there is some stuff in here that I think it would be better off NOT knowing, particularly some of the garishly coloured and clustered monstrosities that are heralded as examples of good design.

The only people who would find this book useful are management-types and marketing people... the kind of people who really should stick to pushing pens and emailing rather than getting involved in the dirty work of designing and developing a succesful website. This book could do a lot of damage in terms of giving delusions of grandeur to these sorts of people!

Much of the advice given in the book is out of date, and many of the example websites are now either not there or have been altered to the extreme. On a posative note, this book does state the obvious to quite a phenominal level and I suppose there may be some people to whom this may be of benefit.

Personally, i'd reccomend any web proffesionals who are thinking of buying this book to stay the heck away!! If you're a manager/marketing person or someone who needs to create the illusion that you know what you're talking about when asked to comment on a website, then this book may be of benefit.

Everything this book says is just common sense. When designing websites, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that people will actually be using your published work! How many times have you been to a site only to think "where's the search box" or when entering some details into your online bank account and then press the "enter key" it doesn't login, it goes off to a "apply for a new savings account". Very confusing. In these circumstances, your brain has to think about what has happened, leaving a negative impression in your mind. Not good if you're trying to sell something!

When it comes to the web, first impressions count. Take Amazons new redesign for 2008. Amazon gets quite a lot of coverage in the book as an example of good design, so it's interesting that they have gone away from their old design, that's been around for about a decade. I don't like the new look, because every time I use it I have to think whereas before it was intuitive. That's the whole point of "dont make me think". You should never have to think about how to use a web site. If you need to use your brain to do something simple, the designer has FAILED.

"Dont make me think" is a quick and easy read. It's quite small at 200 pages. It's often reduced on Amazon so keep an eye out for a bargain.

Highly recommended for all developers, even if you don't often do user interfaces. The advice can be applied to all interfaces and not just the web.

A wonderful little book that really opens your eyes to usability issues that are so obvious but are still overlooked. Time and again a light bulb lights up in your brain as you read this and you think god it is so obvious why didn't I notice that before?

The great thing is you can read this book in one sitting and finish an enlightened usability expert ready to impress your colleagues with your new found knowledge.

There's no point is adding my voice to the many other positive reviews here. It's a complete no-brainer that any one involved in web site build or maintentance - be they designer, developer or business stakeholder - should read and digest this book, not just once but on a regular basis.

BUT ... is there anyone else who has found their copy of DON'T MAKE ME THINK has fallen apart within a few weeks of moderate daily use? Shouldn't a book like this be built to withstand the regular handling that the content deserves?

Or is just that I'm heavy-handed?

AM, London

Fantastic book - full of "d'oh" moments when you realize that you've made just about every stupid mistake possible when designing websites....not anymore though!