When designing intranets or websites, it is helpful to have some rules of thumb to follow when making decisions. Over time, many of these have become elevated into principles or rules, widely used throughout the industry.

The best-known is the ‘three clicks rule’, which says that all content should be no more than three clicks away from the homepage of the site.

This, however, is a myth.

Three clicks rule

The principles is that "users don’t like to click", and that their satisfaction with the site falls with each additional click.

This has developed into a rule that every page must be no more than three clicks away from the homepage. The big advantage of this rule is its simplicity: it’s easy to state and understand, and is therefore widely known throughout the industry.

It’s also perhaps the only rule that is familiar to management, outside of the intranet and design profession.

[CM Briefing 2009-21, read the full article]