When I ask people for directions in a strange city, and I hear them say ‘you can’t miss it’ my heart sinks.
You see, it’s easy to find something it when you know where it is. When you’re wandering round a strange city you need big neon signs that say helpful things like ‘this way to the museum.’ Otherwise no one will know where to find it.
The same applies in website design. On your own website you know where things are. You designed it after all. And this is where it’s so easy to fall into ‘can’t miss it’ thinking.
Of course things are obvious. ‘It’s right there, the button that says “buy.”‘ So how come a new visitor can’t even find it?
It’s amazing. When I’ve had, for instance, my mother look over a website I’ve designed, it’s impossible to fathom the things that attract her attention. But the court of last resort is, after all the new visitor. Because in the end, no one designs websites just for themselves, do they?
(It appears some people do.)
So next time you’ve got a ‘can’t miss it’ design, just take a few minutes and ask someone to spot the next obvious step. And prepare to be surprised.
