What Is Jakob’s Law?

What is Jakob’s Law?

Jakob’s Law is a user experience principle that says:

“Users spend most of their time on other websites. This means they prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.”

This law was coined by Jakob Nielsen, a pioneer in web usability and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group. It emphasizes that familiarity builds trust and reduces the learning curve.

Why Jakob’s Law matters in UX design

Designers often feel the pressure to innovate—but users don’t want to learn how to use a product from scratch. They want things to work the way they expect based on their past experiences.

Ignoring Jakob’s Law can lead to:

• User confusion

• Higher bounce rates

• Lower task completion

• Frustration with unfamiliar patterns

Good UX doesn’t need to surprise people—it needs to feel comfortable and intuitive.

Jakob’s Law in action

Shopping carts

Almost every e-commerce platform has a cart icon in the top right corner. Why? Because that’s where users expect it. Moving it elsewhere breaks the mental model.

Search bars

Placing the search bar in the top navigation or header is now a universal pattern. Hiding it or making it non-obvious makes your site feel harder to use.

Mobile menus

Hamburger menus open a vertical list of navigation items. Users don’t need instructions because they’ve seen this pattern hundreds of times before.

Sign-up and login pages

The “Email” field goes above the “Password” field. The “Submit” button goes at the bottom. These conventions are so baked in that breaking them often leads to form errors.

How to apply Jakob’s Law in your design process

1. Respect established conventions: Use design patterns people already recognize. If your users are used to a certain layout, don’t try to “fix” it unless you have strong evidence.

2. Study competitors and market leaders: Look at the platforms your users spend time on. Mirror key interaction patterns and layouts so your product feels instantly familiar.

3. Don’t confuse familiar with boring: You can still express creativity through visuals, micro-interactions, and branding. Just keep the structure and behavior predictable.

4. Use heuristic evaluation: Review your product against well-known usability principles (like Jakob’s Law). If something feels off, check if it breaks user expectations unnecessarily.

5. Test with real users: If you want to change a convention, test it. If people struggle, Jakob’s Law is probably being violated.

When breaking the law makes sense

There are moments when pushing the boundaries works—especially if you’re introducing a new category of product or innovating where no strong convention exists. But these are exceptions, not the rule.

Start by earning user trust through familiarity. Then slowly introduce new ideas, one pattern at a time.

In summary

So, what is Jakob’s Law? It’s a reminder that familiarity reduces friction. Your users have built expectations based on every other product they’ve used. Respect those expectations, and your design will feel faster, easier, and more trustworthy.