Customer Reviews
It's not just for Web Design - apply to everything - By: Steven C, 08 Oct 2008 
One of the best book I have read this year. Gives you all the basics on usability, how to understand people & how they use websites. It's a must buy as it will be useful for almost everythingin business. Don't make people think, due to internet we switch attention so quickly!
All of the basics - and more! - By: P. Whomes, 14 Sep 2008 Just like the method of web design he advocates, Steve Krug explains his craftin a simple, logical manner.
A common sense approach to web design? Yes it certainly is, & as someone who is used to ploughing through text heavy web design & online marketing textbooks, this book is a welcome relief. It is well laid out, logically progressive, while still being easy to dipin & out of as necessary.
The chapters dealing with the guiding principles of web design give simple and, sometimes obvious, basic advice, but somehow the wayin which they are delivered still manages to stimulate your creative processes. The later chapters dealing with the internal politics of designing a corporate website with multiple stakeholders shows excellent insight, & gives good practical advice about how to manage this process.
This book is for beginners & experts alike and, despite being relatively short, still delivers comprehensive coverage of the subject.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing... - By: M. Hogarth, 28 Aug 2008 
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 stuffin here that I think it would be better off NOT knowing, particularly some of the garishly coloured & clustered monstrosities that are heralded as examples of good design.
The only people who would find this book useful are management-types & marketing people... the kind of people who really should stick to pushing pens & emailing rather than getting involvedin the dirty work of designing & developing a succesful website. This book could do a lot of damagein terms of giving delusions of grandeur to these sorts of people!
Much of the advice givenin the book is out of date, & many of the example websites are now either not there or have been altered to the extreme.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 & 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.
Common sense. Why dont more web developers read it? - By: Dominic Batstone, 13 Aug 2008 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 & 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 impressionin 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 coveragein 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 & 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 & not just the web.
Quality comes in small packages!!! - By: Mr. M. O'Sullivan, 30 Jun 2008 A wonderful little book that really opens your eyes to usability issues that are so obvious but are still overlooked. Time & again a light bulb lights upin your brain as you read this & you think god it is so obvious why didn't I notice that before?
The great thing is you can read this bookin one sitting & finish an enlightened usability expert ready to impress your colleagues with your new found knowledge.
