The Three Click 'rule' of website design says a visitor should be able to find the information they want within 3 mouse clicks. In other words by only visiting three pages.

Why the rule?

Supposedly, if they can't they will get frustrated and leave. This seems a sensible idea, and comes up often in conversations about web design.

In fact it can lead to navigation structures that don't make sense because content is squeezed into this three click limit. You can end up with over-crowded pages and crazy-long menus.

The idea behind this 3 click rule is that internet users have very short attention spans so if they can't get what they want quickly they will go somewhere else.

If you think about e-commerce, it takes more than three clicks to buy something. But it isn't often the number of clicks that make visitors abandon a purchase.

What matters is how easily they can decide where to go next.

Usability Testing shows otherwise.

Usability tests have shown that the number of clicks needed to access the desired information affects neither user satisfaction or success rate.

Opponents of the three click rule will point to this research to say users don't care how many clicks.

In our experience this is over-stating it a bit.

If they can't find what they are looking for, users will leave, but the point at which they do that depends on the task at hand and the experience of the user. As long as they feel like they are getting where they want to go, users don't mind clicking.

So it's quality and ease of navigation that matters more than the amount of clicks.

Quality navigation is what matters.

To make your site as easy to get around as possible:

• Use meaningful words on buttons and in link titles. No 'mystery meat' navigation
• Avoid unnecessary distractions that obscure a page's true purpose and content
• Include breadcrumb navigation, particularly for large sites, so users know where they are and can back-track
• Prioritise content on a page – keep the most important stuff above the fold, but don't worry if users have to scroll down for more
• Group content together in logical sections
• Include links to information of general relevance eg Contact Us, in global navigation
• Include search functionality if you have a big site, archived articles, or sell products

Rule or Myth?

The three click rule shouldn't be thrown out altogether, as it's a useful shorthand for "don't make them jump through too many hoops". But barriers such as poorly written, obscure and vague content or annoying distractions are more likely to lead to visitors abandoning your site than one more click.