Test Your Assumptions

The only way you can know what users like is to listen to them. Make sure to test your system on real target users. Give them tasks to do, observe their behavior, and listen to their feedback. Don't be afraid to modify your design and test again. No one can create the perfect usable design, especially on the first try. User testing is the simplest of all the usability engineering methods, so fast and inexpensive that there is no excuse for launching a site without testing it.

We encourage you to follow the usability guidelines that we've outlined in this book, as they apply to most situations. Our recommendations are based on years of experience and research with thousands of users. Our hope is that this book prevents you from making the mistakes other companies have made and gives you a better understanding of how people interact with Web sites.

Keep your users at the center of your design project. Be humble. Listen to them. They'll make you successful.