3 click test
"Site visitors should be able to find what they are looking for within 3 clicks on your site"
This is what I was taught and I reckon it's stood me in good stead.
Give it a try and see if you can find any page on your site within 3 clicks.
serpico
Megan posted this at 17:34 — 1st November 2008.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
I think this is older advice - I wonder if usability experts still consder it to be true... for a small site, yes, but for larger sites you might tend to make pages more complicated just to make that 3 click rule. In some cases it might be easier to add a click or two if the pages are simpler and the links you need are easier to find.
Megan
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decibel.places posted this at 17:46 — 1st November 2008.
He has: 1,494 posts
Joined: Jun 2008
Well, it depends how they are arriving at your site.
From the standard landing page, perhaps 3 clicks is a good rule of thumb, although on modern Web 2.x sites there are many short teasers that can lead to the desired content in one click.
If the visitor is arriving from a search page, you had better have the desired content on that page or no more than one click away, or the visitor will return to the search results in frustration, I reckon.
pr0gr4mm3r posted this at 20:39 — 1st November 2008.
He has: 1,502 posts
Joined: Sep 2006
Agree with that - if I don't see the result on that page, back to Google I go for the next result.
serpico posted this at 00:08 — 2nd November 2008.
They have: 121 posts
Joined: Aug 2008
interesting comments. i agree i think users are getting less patient when online
Megan posted this at 18:36 — 3rd November 2008.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Here's a good article on superfluous clicks. This is definitely a no-no but something we probably don't test for a lot of the time.
quantiva posted this at 08:44 — 5th November 2008.
They have: 6 posts
Joined: Nov 2008
I think the the 3-click-rule still applies in today's websites.
First, well I agree even if I visit a site and didn't find what I was looking for, I'm gone!
But when you come accross a site that is so informative, you tend to dig deeper to find out more, correct?
For example, in SEO it is encouraged that you have dynamic contents. According to SEO experts, the best thing to do this is to write unique articles. Thus making your site expands, and possibly going away from 3-click-rule. The solution for this: Put or create sub navigation bar on the right or left hand site, which conteains articles related to the parent articles. In this way, you can have a big sites but still stick to the 3-click-rule.
What do you think?
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