3 click test

They have: 121 posts

Joined: Aug 2008

"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's picture

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.

decibel.places's picture

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's picture

He has: 1,502 posts

Joined: Sep 2006

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.

Agree with that - if I don't see the result on that page, back to Google I go for the next result.

They have: 121 posts

Joined: Aug 2008

interesting comments. i agree i think users are getting less patient when online

Megan's picture

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's picture

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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