Most users will surf away if they don't find what they need within eight mouse clicks.
False. In fact, users are nowhere near that generous with their time. One well-known study reports that it takes only four to six clicks to annoy Internet users, with 83% surfing to another site when sufficiently frustrated. Although the data varies, the conclusion is clear: people expect to find what they need quickly. If they have to hunt around, they will abandon your site in favour of a competitor's. To prevent this:
- Make sure users understand what you have to offer. People need to be able to determine who you are, what you do, and how your site functions within seconds of your top page loading. Make your mandate explicit. Banish clutter. Use plain language and don't leave people guessing. Provide prominent links to your About Us and contact information pages, so people don't have to hunt around to find out more.
- Keep site structure simple. Users should be able to find their way around easily. Make navigation intuitive and consistent. A well-known web design rule states that key information should be no more than three clicks away — a worthy though sometimes impossible goal. Usability experts Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville suggest limiting depth to five levels, and maintain that more than ten top-level choices will overwhelm users. Use breadcrumb trails to help people stay oriented if your site is content-heavy.
- Make content and navigation choices user-centric, driven by what matters to users rather than by corporate business objectives. This approach involves a shift away from design by org chart toward design by user needs. Above all, resist the urge to second-guess users. A key mistake is assuming what users consider important. Instead, consider a simple user test session to collect real-world user data about user behaviour and expectations.
