Cutting corners

One summer I helped landscape the front of a bank. There was a paved walkway from the parking lot to the front door that took a 90 degree turn. As I was planting some new plants, my boss Steve told me not to put one too close to the corner. I asked why.

"Because people cut corners" is all he said. If we put a plant right on the corner, it would have been stepped on and killed by visitors cutting the corner or at a minimum, brushed often and irritated by pant legs and shoes.

Take a look at this picture of a traffic gate. Notice the tire tracks. If given the chance, people will cut corners and take the path of least resistance. Easy is better than hard.

The organization of your website should not only allow but encourage
this corner-cutting behavior. Don't put up a roadblock and make them click 4 times to get to a popular feature if you can provide a direct link. Add a list or drop-down box of "Popular Destinations" and allow users to jump right there. Configure your search engine to deliver the right results for key search terms.

Help your users cut corners and save time and suddenly your site will become more useful and user-friendly.