When comparing Don't Make Me Think vs Web Design Elements by Smashing Mag, the Slant community recommends Web Design Elements by Smashing Mag for most people. In the question“What are the best website design books that show best practices etc?” Web Design Elements by Smashing Mag is ranked 1st while Don't Make Me Think is ranked 2nd. The most important reason people chose Web Design Elements by Smashing Mag is:
* Call to Action Buttons * Image Caption Design * Breadcrumbs Design * The Holy Search Box * “Read More” And “Continue Reading” Links * Shopping Carts Gallery * Progress Trackers * Building An Effective ‘Coming Soon’ Page * Designing “Coming Soon” Pages * Maps In Modern Web Design * Pricing Tables * Search Results Design * Block Quotes and Pull Quotes * Date Stamps And Calendars * Case Studies in Design Portfolios * “Meet the Team” Pages * “About me”-Pages * Effective Maintenance Pages * Defensive Web Design * 404 Error Pages, One More Time * 404 Error Pages: Reloaded * Wanted: Your 404 Error Pages And more.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Short and focused
The book understands it's goals and has a clear purpose. How to get people to understand, and accomplish their goals on the site. As suggested by the name, the book is to the point and doesn't waste time.
Pro Clear examples
Many visuals and real world examples of good design are provided, making it an easy to understand and read book.
Pro A great and thorough list of topics
- Call to Action Buttons
- Image Caption Design
- Breadcrumbs Design
- The Holy Search Box
- “Read More” And “Continue Reading” Links
- Shopping Carts Gallery
- Progress Trackers
- Building An Effective ‘Coming Soon’ Page
- Designing “Coming Soon” Pages
- Maps In Modern Web Design
- Pricing Tables
- Search Results Design
- Block Quotes and Pull Quotes
- Date Stamps And Calendars
- Case Studies in Design Portfolios
- “Meet the Team” Pages
- “About me”-Pages
- Effective Maintenance Pages
- Defensive Web Design
- 404 Error Pages, One More Time
- 404 Error Pages: Reloaded
- Wanted: Your 404 Error Pages
And more.
Cons
Con Poor binding quality
There have been complaints with the quality of binding with the 2nd edition book.