Fred's Blog

A previous post explained that it is often better to remove features than to add new features.

Neil Hunt from Netflix uses a canny term “attentrons” to explain why this is the case:

I have this mental model of particles of attention that a user brings, a finite quantity that they will spread around according to what catches their attention. I call them “attentrons”. An extra tab or button will attract a bunch of attentrons that are not then available to focus on other areas. So the tab had better be *better* than the competing areas of the site to avoid diluting the results, or it’s better off removed.

Read his full post on Quora.

When designing a web site you can use one of these two principles:

1. A great web site is about adding as many features as possible
2. A great web site is about removing as many features as possible

Your choice makes a huge difference in how your site looks & feels, so choose carefully.

Many web sites use the first approach, but this results in a cluttered and confusing website.

The second approach gives an easy-to-use web site, a site people enjoy using and come back to again and again.

Don’t get me wrong, the second approach is not about dumbing down your site. It is about focusing on the core, and be the best of the best for the stuff that really matters for your site.

Have you read the article about a company that changed one button on their site, and increased sales by $300 million per year?

Shows how important the user interface is.

http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button/