I’ve been working in the web industry for over 5 years now, and pretty much thought I had it all figured out, as far as usability is concerned.

Wow, was I wrong. Reading Krug’s book opened up my eyes to several important aspects of web usability that I had overlooked. I especially found the section on user testing useful.

This is one of the best investments you can make for your career!

When we design Web sites, we often overlook the simplest things because we’re too wrapped up in the design. After working on Web sites for a while, some of us have slowly moved away from what we know is usable to adding or removing elements that may enhance the `look’ – and also break a site’s usability.

Steer back on track with the new edition of Krug’s highly referenced book. Novice, intermediate, expert. No matter where you are on the scale, the book provides value to everyone – even managers, testers and project managers. Management likes to get their hands a little dirty when it comes to Web design projects and sharing this book may make the team’s life easier.

Anyone involved with Web design or usability will recognize most, if not all, of the concepts covered in the book. What makes Don’t Make Me Think usable is that it’s a great checklist to ensure you’ve covered all the basics.

Krug provides many before and after examples to show how a few changes can enhance a Web site’s usability. The illustrations reinforce the concepts covered as well as how visitors use and read a Web site.

As for the differences between the first and second editions, the second addition has three new chapters while usability testing shrinks from two chapters to one and with good reason.

The testing chapter breaks down the testing process into digestible steps; complete with a script between the tester (user) and the person watching the tester. Too often, we’ve seen testing get mangled or ignored. With this chapter, teams might find themselves empowered and eager to do testing.

The chapter on “Usability as common courtesy” explores how a site can make or break the “reservoir of goodwill” as Krug puts it. We arrive at a Web site with some goodwill and depending on how well the site meets or misses our needs; the goodwill level goes up or down. It may only take one mistake to propel visitors to flee.

Another new and short chapter is “Accessibility, Cascading Style Sheets and you.” Krug captures what developers and designers hear when it comes to accessibility and addresses what they fear. He lists five things designers and developers can do make a site accessible without a lot of effort.

Finally, the book closes with “Help! My boss wants me to…” Krug has received plenty emails and questions on the topic to identify two questions that repeatedly come up. He provides email examples for free re-use, so no one has to explain it to the boss.

It only takes about two hours or a plane trip to read. The writing is conversational, clear and packs a punch with a dash of humor thrown in. Reading the book is not much different than reading fiction because it flows well and the information sinks in without much effort.

If you get this book and have the 1st edition, I recommend keeping both. You might find helpful stuff in the original material not found in the new edition.

  I usually don't make time to do reviews (mainly because with kids you rarely have time just to read).But this was a great book on web design usability.I read it in about 3-4 days and it provided such a great approach to web design usability with so little effort that anybody doing any kind of web development needs to have this book on their shelf.Most of it is common sense ... but you don't realize it until after you read it.Once you read some of the chapters you kind of say to yourself ... "DUH! Why didn't I think of that before!"I wish all software development books could be written in such a fashion.You'll do yourself good by getting this book and reading it if you're a web developer.

" delves into this topic of the immediate perceptions of the brain) they know what it is that they're looking for, want the quickest route to it and know at a glance if they've found it.

Today's website is "the new business card". That first impression is possibly the only one you'll make, so make it your best. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is creating websites or having one designed.

if you want a quick crash course in web usability, this is the book for you. it's an easy read, taking away all of the technical jargon and explaining it, instead, in every day terms. the book is appropriate for everyone from beginners to the advanced usability experts, but beware it is not an indepth how-to manual. full of examples and screen shots of real world, current examples. you can read the whole book in one sitting and never get bored. two thumbs up.

  First off, let me preface this life web team scenarios, and gives some really simple exercises for reviewing a website.

I especially appreciate his beginning most chapters with a real-life example (ie a designer vs a developer disagreeing about the use of a pulldown menu). This shows me he's been in the trenches before, and keeps me interested in what his solution is.

His chapter on how to run usability tests on a shoestring budget will help not only me (who'll have to run the tests), but also will provide a lot of background on scenarios where usability efforts tend to not take off within a company. Additionally he provides solutions on how to mitigate these excuses -- he's about how to get things done, not about theorizing.

Thanks Steve - another new fan has joined the fold.