# Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug

12 Hacker News commenters recommended Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Classic guide to clear web interface design, recommended as essential reading for developers. One critic says its advice has become so standard it now feels obvious.

## Why people recommend it

- Classic design reference for online interfaces (4 comments): "Don’t Make Me Think” is a book that needs to be somewhere in the lines of “The Design of Everyday Things.”" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46718608)) "The book "Don't make me think" is a classic design reference that makes this point really well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47124537)) "is a seminal work on design thinking for online services" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46719802))
- Essential reading for software developers (3 comments): "I submit this should be part of "Software Development 101", right there alongside SICP." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49224845)) "I was surprised this wasn't on there, even with a caveat that it's for online sources" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46719303)) "I'm one of those folks that read Don't Make Me Think , and took it to heart." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49966441))
- Usability principles still hold (2 comments): "It's an old book, but most of the advice is common sense and still applies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46101350)) "If you made your users think, you have lost them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407789))
- Clear guide to user-friendly interfaces (2 comments): "Don‘t Make Me Think is the best guide for developing interfaces for non technical user" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49858250)) "If you made your users think, you have lost them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48407789))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/design-of-everyday-things.md): 29 recommend
- [Refactoring UI by Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger](https://hackerapproved.com/p/refactoring-ui.md): 14 recommend
- [Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick](https://hackerapproved.com/p/practical-typography.md): 10 recommend
- [A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander](https://hackerapproved.com/p/a-pattern-language.md): 9 recommend
- [Hooked by Nir Eyal](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hooked.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321965515?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780321965516) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug", https://hackerapproved.com/p/don-t-make-me-think/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).