Hicks Law in UI/UX design
Get the overview of an essential chapter in the Laws of UX
Make a choice between the below-given car options:
Now make a choice from the given below set of options:
Result:
It was easy to choose between two options rather than a set of options. That’s simple logic.
The cognitive load on a user increases with the increase in the number of options. This is where Hick’s law comes into the picture.
Overview:
Hicks law basically states that the time taken to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.
In other words: The more options a user is presented with, the longer it will take them to make a decision.
Origin:
Hick’s Law also knows as the Hick-Hyman Law is named after a British and an American psychologist team of William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman.
In 1952, this pair set out to examine the relationship between the number of stimuli present and an individual’s reaction time to any given stimulus. As you would expect, the more stimuli to choose from, the longer it takes the user to make a decision on which one to interact with. Users bombarded with choices have to take time to interpret and decide, giving them work they don’t want.
Examples:
As you see in the image below, we have a Google homepage from the year 1988 and Goggles landing page as of today.
We can clearly see the difference.
On the Google homepage today, a user has very limited options presented to them. This means that the time it takes for a user to make a decision is likely to be very quick.
It might be tempting to think “Google is doing this, so we should too!”, but it’s often fairly difficult to minimize options to the extent that Google does.
A more realistic example comes from ASOS; it is an online clothing site.
They have limited their options on their homepage to help users make a quicker decision. From here a user can primarily search, or navigate to the ‘Men’ or ‘Women’ part of the site. Thus friction is reduced for quick decision making.
Some Tips and Tricks:
Use Categories
Spotify and Netflix nail it when it comes to grouping content by category. Whenever possible, products with tons of content should divide it into categories and reveal their ins and outs on request. It helps users navigate sites without feeling lost in a sea of options. Plus, it builds an overall pleasant experience.
Group Navigation
Just as you would group similar content into categories, hide related navigational items into one. It takes the cake for websites with tricky navigation and lots of pages, especially when header space is limited. Header navigation is one of the most valuable sections, so make sure it looks clean, sharp, and informative.
Simplify Forms
Let’s face it — users hate forms! That’s the reason why signing up forms that allow users to register with third party accounts — like Google or Facebook accounts — have become so popular as of late. It makes things easier for users, speeding up their journey. If you notice high abandonment at your checkout or sign up page, reconsider alternative options.
Easy Sharing
When providing a set of sharing options, focus on the most common ones. Explore users’ needs! In fact, Airbnb reported a 52% increase in shares when they only displayed two options and buried the rest under the More Options icon.
Hide Options
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. The thing is, users can make a decision or complete a task faster if they don’t see a full set of options. To make it right, designers have such tricks as the Show More button at their fingertips. Provide this option for advanced or more curious users who want to dig deeper.
Key takeaways:
- Hick’s Law states that bombarding users with too many options increases the amount of time they need to decide what to choose. As a result, they tend to abandon the flow.
- Presenting fewer options to your users means that they will take less time to make a decision, and vice versa.
- Simplify choices for the user by breaking down complex tasks into smaller steps.
- In order to reduce options in your navigation, card-sorting can be used to help identify categories and refine Information Architecture.
- Use qualitative and quantitative data to identify the primary tasks that the user would like to achieve to help you narrow down your options.
- Avoid overwhelming users by highlighting the recommended options by breaking down complex tasks into smaller steps.
- Use progressive onboarding to minimize cognitive load for new users.
- When asking users to provide feedback or make a selection, include only the most expected options. We can’t avoid complexity in design, but some forms — feedback or signing up — should be as simple as possible.
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