Clicks
If it takes a user more than three clicks on your website to get a product then you have an issue. People won’t dig for something that deep unless it’s something they really want and trust me, that’s not very often.
I know you you can use the search bar on the site (What site doesn’t have a search bar?). But your navigation represents how you see yourself and how you see your customer.
Here’s a game to play. On your website imagine that the search bar is broke, now try to find products merely by clicking through your navigation. I bet for over 90% of what you carry in your site, it takes more than three clicks to get there.
Three clicks? Yikes. Maybe the rule should be that if it takes more than three clicks to get to it, you shouldn’t sell it.
Simplicity Wins
The Amazon Kindle is flying off the shelf. More than likely the $199 price point and Amazon’s brand recognition are driving sales. However, I don’t think that is what will sustain grow their sales. It’s the simplicity of the whole thing.
It will be the simplicity of UI design, the integration of the Amazon store and the simplicity of setting up the device.
This will inevitably lead to people sharing their Kindle Fire experiences with others, which is the most powerful marketing of all. Simplicity wins. In the long runs, simplicity beats features, celebrity endorsements and overhyped design. Simplicity of message, function and design is powerful combination that can be rarely beaten.
Details
I love design that has detail, but there comes a point when you are adding details for the sake of the details themselves. Unless those details add to the functionality of the design, then they need to go. I see too many designers these days add details, because they have either lost a vision for how the design should function or they don’t know when to quit and move on.
If you find yourself adding detail and your are not sure why, step away. Walk away from the design and give it room to breathe. You will not create a better design by adding details to a design problem that does not call for those details as a solution.
Yes, some of the greatest designs in the world have details. However, those details usually contain a functionality that delights and even surprises the user. Achieving that is not done by whimsically adding details, but rather through thoughtful consideration. That kind of thinking is rare. Instead of thoughtful consideration, we are becoming inundated with mediocre design that is being passed off as creative work and then sent around the web thanks websites like Pinterest and Tumblr.
Lay off the details. Chances are you don’t need them.
