Jakob’s Law
Jakob's Law states that users prefer your app to work like the ones they already know. Since people spend most of their time using familiar apps and websites, they expect new apps to function in similar ways.
Surinder Thakur · AI Product Designer
Founder of ProUXUpdated
- Principle · 134
- CRO techniques
- UX concepts
- UX biases
- UI principles
- UX fundamentals
Why It Matters
Why Does This Matter?
- Ease of Use: Familiar designs make it easier for users to navigate your app without a learning curve.
- Less Confusion: Using common layouts and features reduces errors and frustration.
- Quick Navigation: Users can find what they need faster when your app feels familiar.
- User Comfort: An intuitive experience encourages users to keep using your app.
- Better Decisions: Easier navigation can lead to quicker actions, like making a purchase.
- Builds Trust: A familiar design increases user confidence in your app.
Benefits for Your Business
- Improved User Experience: Users find your app easy and enjoyable to use.
- Increased Trust and Loyalty: A familiar and intuitive app builds confidence in your brand.
- Saves Time and Resources: Using established design patterns speeds up the design process.
- Higher Conversion Rates: Users are more likely to complete actions, like purchases, when the app is easy to use.
- User Retention: Satisfied users are more likely to return to your app.
How to Improve
How Can You Apply Jakob's Law?
- Use Common Design Patterns: Stick to familiar layouts like top menus and standard buttons.
- Predictable Steps: Structure processes like sign-up or checkout in ways users are used to.
- Standard UI Elements: Use common icons and menus that users recognize.
- Test with Users: Conduct usability tests to see how people interact with your design.
- Consistency Across Devices: Make sure your app looks and works similarly on mobile, desktop, and tablets.
Key Takeaway
In Summary
By designing your app to match what users already know, you make it easier and more enjoyable to use. Jakob's Law suggests that familiar design leads to a better user experience and can positively impact your business by increasing user satisfaction and engagement.
Questions about Jakob’s Law
In its conventions, yes. People arrive with expectations built from every other site they use, and meeting those expectations is free comprehension. Differentiate on what you offer and how well it works, not on where the cart icon lives.
When the familiar pattern genuinely does not fit your problem and you can teach the new one in a single interaction. Breaking a convention costs every user a moment of confusion, so the replacement has to be better by more than that cost, every time, not just the first.
These answers come from nineteen years of UX practice. More about Surinder →
AI Product Designer
19 years designing products, mobile first, grounded in UX psychology.
Founder of ProUX.
