The 3-click rule and its impact on the user experience

After clarifying the basics in the first part of our series on UX design, today we will focus on the topic of user guidance. As with a good navigation app, it's important to give your website visitors the right hints and signals so that at the end they say: "You've reached your destination!" But how do you ensure that the paths on the website are clearly understandable and that the user doesn't get lost in the jungle of information? The operation of a website is subject to certain conventions and standards. They make it easier for users to access the available content and significantly influence their user behaviour.

The history of the 3-click rule

Anyone who has ever remotely dealt with the topic of user experience has probably heard of the 3-click rule. According to this rule, the user should only have to click three times to reach the desired destination. It's certainly good if the user doesn't take forever to find the information they're looking for - but where did this rule originally come from?

In the 1990s and early 2000s, there was no high-speed Internet. The good old 56k modem beeped and whirred to establish a connection to the network, and every user was used to staring at a moving hourglass for minutes until the desired page was established. If you have to wait that long for a connection, you don't want to click more than three times to get the right information.

The challenges of user experience today

Today's users have a different experience: they are constantly online and page content loads within a second at best (we reveal more about speed in our part 3 of the series). The challenges for the user experience today lie more in the wealth of information available and the well thought-out preparation of content and website structure. In the best case scenario, the user recognises at first glance which button or navigation point they need to select in order to get the answers they are looking for quickly. An optimally planned website takes into account the fact that everyone has different user behaviour. While some people enter directly via the search function, others react to headings and others use the menu navigation. True to the motto "Many roads lead to Rome", all users should arrive at the same destination - namely Rome in Italy and not accidentally end up in Rome in Mecklenburg. Plan several paths of user guidance accordingly and don't let the user end up in dead ends and on pages that no longer exist.

Users want to find their way quickly

In the early days of the internet, the primary goal of design was to be particularly hip and to try out the most unusual solutions possible. Since then, habits have developed that make it easier for users to find their way around your website: The little house takes you back to the start and a "play" button signals interactive content. In a westernised country, users also expect navigation menus to be at the top and to the left. Such conventions make it easier for website visitors to quickly find their way around your site.

These conventions have been laid down in the "usability laws" - the DIN standard EN ISO 9241-110 - among others. Among other things, it lists evaluation criteria relating to controllability, fault tolerance and customisability, which enable an objective analysis of a website.

A picture says more than 1,000 words

Finally, let's take a look at the most important thing: the content of your website. Due to the complexity of available information, well-structured content makes an important contribution to user guidance. Content must be easy to understand and organised accordingly. Subheadings and the use of suitable photos, videos and graphics are helpful in presenting your information in the best possible way. Your readers want to grasp the most important information quickly. Journalists, for example, use the "story in a nutshell" to present important information right at the beginningand then expand on it below. Highlighted quotes with important key statements also allow the user to consume information in bites and increase "snackability".

Conclusion

Nowadays, user guidance should provide the user with clear guidelines for orientation. It is important that the user's habits are incorporated into the design of the website. Don't leave your readers out in the rain, but take them by the hand so that everyone is pleased to realise at the end: "You've reached your goal!"