For years now the heady professors in the UI/UX world have been ramming the 3 click rule in to new and experienced minds. Basic shorthand summary, your site users apparently do not want to undertake more than 3 clicks before they magically turn in to pumpkins..

‘STOP it’s time to get a bit of realism, users don’t see clicks anymore, they see pathways, they see the ability to get to a goal. Users are not going to worry about 100 clicks if they believe that they are getting closer to the information they need.’

Maybe a little over the top, and there are caveats around the quality of the content, site and information, however its a dead rule, as UI and AI designers we need to stop thinking about convention and start looking at the new world of user journeys. The web is a different place today, than it was yesterday, explicit i know, but really the nature of content has changed and is changing rapidly, wikis, SM and social networks are making people visit content in different ways, detail has now become important, so depth of link is no longer an issue.

This is not just about content though, this is about retail as well, simple products still exist with the need to ’stack em high, sell em low’, but in the ‘amazonia’ world of multiple products, multiple values, options, alternatives, cross and up sell, users are now more proficient at getting to the right information they need to make the purchase decision. I hate doing it, but Amazon have done it, in fact they are killing it, you can go as deep as you like, be over informationed, but on the flip side, you have single click ordering, not even a confirmation. If you drew that on a white board, with the kings of usability, it just wouldn’t work, but it does and it works well, it is setting a new standard in ultimate options for users, all online retailers should be scared, very scared! (well maybe just a little, until they catch up of course!)

So let your imagination run, use the framework libraries and never forget past learnings, but look in to the present, in to the users and there journeys, the competitors and comparators..