Krug's talk of newspapers, especially, reminded me of some frustrating experiences I've had with the NY Times website. Obviously, it's the NY Times, so a person who visits the website will probably be more into the idea of reading the content than not. However, every time I have visited that site, I've found it extremely difficult to navigate. Usually I'm searching for something in particular, and the amount of information on the main page is overwhelming. Also, the text is all very similar, so although it's broken up by category, it's difficult to scan. I decided to take a look at the website for USA Today, to compare. The layout of the page may not be as cool and savvy-looking as the NY Times website, however, I found it much more searchable, and less intimidating.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Don't Make Me Think
I knew I'd like this book as soon as I saw the title. I wasn't disappointed, Steve Krug presents a lot of valuable information in a way that is accessible and fun. Reading the first half of this book got me thinking about different websites I've visited that have been frustrating. Websites that aren't easily navigable are annoying, I think Krug is absolutely right. Additionally, I think it's very useful to think of a website as a billboard. I know that when I go to a website, I almost never read the entire content. Unless I'm specifically looking for something to read (like a blog), I won't read over a line or two on a website.
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I totally agree with you with the NY Times idea. Whenever I find an article of interest I am never able to find it again, even if it's just a couple of days later.
ReplyDeleteAlso, with the navigation aspect of it - I think I'm just sort of thrown off by the newspaper on the internet because I'm so accustomed to flipping a page and scanning headlines. With internet news I feel as if it's more difficult to scan the way we are already accustomed to.
By the way, the graphic on your site is really awesome.
Bethany,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I went to both NY Times and USA Today to see the difference. I agree with you that the NY Times site is just messy. There is so much to look at and by just glancing it doesn't seem very organized. When I looked at the USA Today site it seemed much "cleaner".
It's hard to decide which site Krug would like better--NY Times does section things off nicely even though there are a tons of sections. NY Times also uses tabs, which Krug really likes.
ReplyDeleteEither way, can you imagine being a web editor for a news paper?..such an incredible amount of work to do with such emphasis on deadlines.
I almost used the NYT website myself, but I found upon going to examine it that they had cleaned it up significantly from what I remembered. Still, I've always found it amusing (if frustrating) that they managed to keep the Grey Lady feel during the transition to digital.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting that you use the USA Today site as a comparison. Way back when I was a broadcasting major (some time in the late paleolithic) we spent some time comparing newspapers, and these two were the examples used in most of the texts, because they were such polar opposites - the NYT has always been hugely popular with the intellectual types, who want their paper jam packed with news and as much information as possible, while the USA Today has always been loved for being accessible to the common man, with its big color headlines and prevalent photos.
Also I agree with Chris; the new(?) graphic on your website is pretty cool.
Bethany,
ReplyDeleteI really like your examples! I agree that Krug makes a lot of good points about the nature of reading on the internet and I think your examples demonstrate those points completely. I haven't been on the New York Times website in over a year at least and I too felt overwhelmed and even startled by all the content on the home page. Looking at the USA Today page gave me a much different feeling. After the New York Times it was actually relaxing to look at the other newpaper page. My question is do you think it is best to keep a page as simple as possible then?
thanks!- beckah
What a great exchange of ideas. Please keep this in mind when we read McCloud....He is going to talk about (show) how words/pictures are valued differently. This discussion is highly relevant. And I like how rhetorical issues of audience and context are factored in throughout the posts.
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