Jakob's Law

What is Jakob's Law?

Jakob's Law is named after usability expert Jakob Nielsen. The idea behind it: people spend most of their time not on your website but on everyone else's. That is where they learn how a cart, a search or a login works, and they bring those expectations with them when they visit you.

Repeated experiences form mental models. When your product breaks from them, people have to relearn. That costs attention that should go to your offer instead.

Why Jakob's Law matters

Conventions are not a lack of creativity. They are a tool. The logo in the top left goes to the homepage, the cart sits in the top right, underlined text is a link. Using familiar patterns cuts learning effort and errors. In e-commerce especially, where shoppers jump between stores all the time, every needless deviation becomes a stumbling block on the way to purchase.

How to use Jakob's Law in practice

• Know the conventions: Study the products your audience uses every day, not just your direct competitors.
• Deviate on purpose: Only break a pattern when it adds clear value, and check that in a test.
• Innovate in the right place: Stand out through content, tone and offer, not through basic interaction.
• Roll out redesigns gently: Give existing users time or guidance when familiar flows change.

Common mistakes

A frequent mistake is "creative" navigation, such as a hidden menu on desktop or unfamiliar icons without labels. It looks original in a mockup but confuses people in daily use. The opposite mistake is copying competitors blindly without checking whether their solution actually works.