TIP 31

The 3 Click Rule of website design

Many have written about the Three Click Rule. For instance, Jeffrey Zeldman, the influential web designer, wrote about the three click Rule in his popular book, Taking Your Talent to the Web. He writes that the three click Rule is "based on the way people use the Web" and "the rule can help you create sites with intuitive, logical hierarchical structures".

On the surface, the Three Click Rule makes sense. If users can't find what they're looking for within three clicks, they're likely to get frustrated and leave the site.

However, there have been studies into the actual usefulness of the 3 click rule by useability experts, generating real data, that basically debunks the rule as a gospel truth. That is, if a task takes more than 3 clicks to complete, a visitor will not manage to complete the task successfully.

The 3 click rule is the oldest pillar of accessible, usable website design, right there beside KISS.

The 3 click rule, at the very least, ensures you are always thinking about the website navigation system, but apply it in the following way:

"Don't put important information on your site that is more than 3 clicks away from an entrance page"

This way you'll ensure visitors see the important content on your website before they leave.

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