Here are some websites that I found that both follow and violate the rules mentioned in Krug's Dont Make Me Think.
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia whose layout adheres well to Krug's rules for how well-designed webpages are built. Specifically, it adheres well to Rule One: "Don't Make Me Think" because when we browse the webpage, we can clearly understand what we're looking at. The format of each page clearly shows that we're browsing an online encyclopedia of what we just searched for. Each section is clearly defined and articulate in what it is explaining, and it also contains clear links to sources that back up what it is saying.
Headwaters Outfitters' home website is well-designed in what it is trying to accomplish. Its format clearly follows Krug's recommendations mentioned in his book and can be defined as a well-designed website. One rule it adheres to well is Rule 4: "Conventions are Your Friend." It does so because it has very similar formatting to other well-known outfitters that showcase what they have to offer on their websites. The vibrant greens and thrilling imagery of people engaging in outdoor activities clearly indicate that this company advertises itself as an outfitter.
A personal favorite and a well-designed webpage to navigate, The Nantahala Outdoor Center's (NOC's) home website clearly
follows all of Krug's rules on how to make a well-designed webpage, but what really stood out was the website's ability to
follow rule three: Get Rid of Half the Words on Each Page while keeping the website very informative.
The 'What to Bring' page provides comprehensive information clearly, although it could further embrace Krug's Rule Three by
trimming additional content. Nonetheless, it successfully organizes essential information in an easy-to-scan format, making
it user-friendly overall
This website follows none of Steve Krug's recommendations on how to build a website. To choose one rule that it does a good job of breaking is interesting, but to say, the rule that it explicitly breaks is Rule 5: "Create Visual Hierarchies." The webpage is clearly an online store for people to browse miscellaneous things, but it's quite hard to tell where things start and end because of its inability to sort things with a clear visual hierarchy. Different DOM objects overlap each other, and images block important information that customers might need to see when they finally find the item they're looking for.
This website follows some of Krug's recommendations on building a good website, and it is not poorly designed as it conveys a clear message and has a clear purpose. It also has a clear visual hierarchy that nicely separates each section's purpose. However, the one issue I found with this website is that the content is quite wordy, which violates Rule 7: "Omit Needless Words." A lot of what Ben has to offer can be simplified into smaller phrases or paragraphs that can explain what he is offering to those who wish to go out on a charter.
This website follows very few recommendations that Krug states in his book. One major thing that stands out is that this website, an online store for X-Ray equipment, doesn't follow any familiar conventions that typical online stores follow, which is a clear violation of Rule 4: "Conventions are Your Friends." The way this website is laid out is reminiscent of that of the early 2000s with its quirky looks and rudimentary CSS styling. While it accomplishes what it is trying to do, this website could use some modernization and updates to its UX and UI for a cleaner display and more satisfying browsing experience.