Who Knows Anything? The blog of Chip Gallent. eBusinessman.

The Rule of Three Clicks

Rule of Three Clicks - A website development theory whereby a site is constructed so that all pages are navigable from the homepage within three clicks.

It still amazes me how many websites still "hide" their own content so deep within their site. By hiding, I mean that you have to literally stumble onto the link or continually click to get to the content you desire.

When I get involved in a site redesign, this is the first task that I undertake. I can remember three or four years ago building a site for Lexington Furniture, a huge furniture manufacturer in High Point, NC. My team was challenged with condensing the furniture browsing experience from ten clicks down to three. In fact, their site still uses this model today.

Here are the steps to ensure the least number of clicks in your user's experience:

• Organize your content by the way your users or site visitors interact with your organization.
• Organize your product/service content by how the product/service is categorized and who may use it.
• Provide content formatted for printing if the content exceeds several paragraphs. Users don't read off of the
  screen for more than three or four paragraphs.
• Use flash cards to help you develop a paper-based site model and test your click count.

Many research projects, usability experts and information design engineers have noted that the propensity for a user to leave a site goes way up after the third click. Heed this advice and the visitors to your site will thank you with return visits.