#28 - The 3-Click Myth

Writing of the week

Many of you will have heard from various sources that if the user is not able to get the information they are looking for in less than 3 clicks, their frustration will increase or they will go to another page. Jeffrey Zeldman's original quote is "It's widely agreed, even by people who are not idiots, that web users are driven by a desire for fast gratification. If they can't find what they're looking for within three clicks, they might move on to somebody else's site".

Well, it's fake, there is no supported research that concludes that after three clicks the patterns change, in fact, Joshua Porter (2003) concluded that metrics such as Clicks-to-completion or General user satisfaction based on the number of clicks is not affected by the total number of clicks.

We assume that neither the number of clicks is a relevant usability metric, nor that all clicks are of the same relevance, or if they have a different interaction cost or information scent, etc.

We take this opportunity to expose another myth about information architecture and navigation, which is about Miller's Law, the magic number 7±2. This number, as you know, is the approximate capacity of elements that we can store in our memory, so as the same definition says, this number does not apply to the total of first level elements in navigation.

Rather than designing based on myths, the essential thing when it comes to planning a good architecture is to create systems that are neither too wide (it would occupy too much space in the interface or would provoke complex decisions (Hicks' Law)) nor too deep (few first level taxonomies or too much navigation to reach the link).

Other advices when defining the navigation are to guide the user where he is at any moment (wayfinding), to use labels with a high information scent, to prioritise the important pages at the beginning or at the end, to enable quick accesses to pages that are at the same level and are siblings (lateral navigation) and always to prioritise the architecture from the most general to the most specific.

Articles & Idea

Design good practices‍

Guidelines to naming conventions, components structure and document organization. Javier 'Simón' Cuello

How to Write Microcopy That Improves the User Experience‍

The small bits of copy you see sprinkled throughout apps and websites are called microcopy. As content designers, we think deeply about what each word communicates. Betsy Mikel

The Visual Principle of Scale in User Interface Design‍

Users pay more attention to big things than to small things, and this design principle can be used to prioritize a user experience design, such as a web page or application screen. Kelley Gordon

The art of making information beautiful‍

Bureau Oberhaeuser takes complex data and distills it into infographics, interfaces and digital experiences that make sense. While most digital designers today are focused on usability, Bureau Oberhaeuser believes UX design should also be beautiful. Tobias Van Schneider

Don't Let the Trolls Win‍

Many years ago, I learned that trolling, like everything else, is a kind of art. The people who do it the most take it as seriously as stand-up comics do their sets. Except of course, trolls are going for some flavor of hurt, outrage, or discomfort rather than laughter. Julie Zhuo

Things I wish I knew earlier when I started building products (retired)

I’ve been building products for the last 12 years. On this journey, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to wear a lot of different hats in the making of a digital product. Amilton L. Paglia

A practical guide to solving product debt‍

In this article, I write about how to eliminate your own debt and stop producing more. This method is mainly inspired from my experience with top software engineering teams and lean manufacturing practices. Laurent Grima

Emoji before Emoji‍

Large sheets of paper printed on one side and known as broadsheets or broadsides were, from the earliest days of printing in Europe, printed in the tens of millions. John Boardley

Products

UX Toast‍

Become familiar with a collection of design laws and principles, and learn how to implement them in your designs.‍

Notion Timeline‍

Timeline is a new type of database you can use to scope projects and adjust their timelines with flexibility.‍

Ribbon‍

Instant user interviews with your own users. Start video interviews in minutes with your own users as they use your website. Discover product opportunities, do usability testing and get to know your users.‍

Startup School for Future Founders‍

A free, 6-week online course for aspiring startup founders. Learn how to start a company with help from the world's best accelerator - Y Combinator. Sign up now to join us! The next course will begin on Nov 9, 2020.‍

Custom Graph for Figma‍

Custom Graph lets you build line, bar and cumulative graphs based on your design elements.‍

No Code MBA‍

Superpowers for the digital economy. Your million dollar business idea will never get off the ground if you don't know how to build it.‍

ProductRoad‍

Build better products based on customers feedback. Collect feedback from users, prioritize features and show the roadmap of your product to get more users and increase retention.‍

Kickresume‍

Your success story begins with a resume. Create a beautiful resume, impress your future employer, and score the job you’ve always wanted.

Remote Jobs

All remote jobs links have been removed, as the positions were fulfilled.