Hicks Law: Why does it matter in UX?

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To provide a successful user experience, you must first identify the functionalities that will meet their demands and then guide them to the precise features they desire the most. If consumers become caught in the “what next?” decision-making process, as explained by Hicks Law, they may become confused, frustrated, or leave your website.

As a designer, you will apply Hicks Law to determine how many features you should provide on any page of your website and how this will affect your users’ overall decision-making strategy.

What is hicks law?

Hicks Law (also known as the Hick-Hyman Law) was named after a British and American psychology pair, William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman. In 1952, they sought to investigate the relationship between the quantity of stimuli present and an individual’s reaction time to any particular input. 

As expected, the more stimuli available, the longer the user can decide which one to interact with. Users overloaded with options must spend time interpreting and choosing, which results in tasks they do not desire.

The formula for Hicks Rule:

RT = a + b log2(n).

Where:

RT = reaction time.

a = time spent not making decisions

b = an empirically derived constant based on the time it takes to comprehend each option cognitively (hint: it is around 0.155 seconds for humans).

log2 = the logarithm function.

(n) =  the number of equally plausible choices.

Hicks law example

Assume you are buying a coffee machine.

You visit Target’s website and navigate to ‘Kitchen Appliances.’ From there, navigate to ‘Coffee Makers.’ Once you get there, you are swamped with choices: espresso machines, multi-functional coffee makers, single-serve machines, French presses, and automatic drip coffee makers. The choices continue after you have decided which type you prefer. Then, it is time to decide which brand is suitable for you.

Initially, landing on this page may feel exhilarating. There are many alternatives; you will discover the perfect one, right? However, the more you shop, the less prepared you feel to click ‘add to cart,’ let alone checkout. What if the coffee machine you choose is too noisy? Or is it more complicated to use than you expected? What if it doesn’t match your other kitchen appliances? What if you buy an espresso machine but later wish you had opted for a simple drip coffee maker instead? The questions can seem daunting.

How hicks law applies in user experience?

By applying Hicks Law in UX design, you can create a better user experience for your website, app, pop-up form, smartphone, remote control, or oven. This law empowers you to simplify the decision-making process for your users, making their interactions with your product more enjoyable and efficient.

When users are confronted with overwhelming options, decision-making becomes difficult. So, if your website has fewer options, customers may become frustrated and stop using it. Alternatively, they may select an option they do not desire, such as departing a form before completing it, unsubscribing from a mailing, or abandoning their shopping. However, if they are given fewer options, they are more likely to make a decision – or at least enjoy the experience.

Let us take a deeper look at some of the Hicks law applications.

Navigation menus

Whether you are designing a navigation menu for a website, app, or other product, too many options need to be clarified for users. (And yes, the same applies to restaurant menus!)

Forms

You should have at least one form on your website. It may be a contact form, a newsletter subscription, or an account signup. Regardless of the outcome, you must reduce the possibilities as much as possible. When you need your website visitors to fill out too many fields or click too many buttons, they may quit the form and leave your site entirely.

Terms of service

Service agreements are lengthy, and for good reason. However, because of their length and complexity, you must give users and customers multiple choices for reviewing them, notably if they are signing a contract or paying money.

Pricing pages

Pricing pages are another example of organizations experiencing information overload. To present various options to encourage purchasing, you may inadvertently make it more challenging to choose and buy. Offering filter options that allow prospects to narrow their search based on price point or product preference helps avoid information overload.

Homepages

Your homepage sets the tone for the rest of your visitors’ experiences with your website or app; you must design it with Hick’s rule in mind. It is unsettling if the first thing they see is a busy site with jumbled modules, an oversupply of photos, and images that take forever to load.

The implementation of hicks law

Limit the possibilities for time-sensitive operations

The guiding premise of Hicks Law can be expressed in three words: Less is faster. In other words, offering only the most essential options can shorten a user’s response time.

Break down complex operations into manageable steps

Another way to apply Hick’s rule on your website is to break down complex operations, such as the checkout process, into more manageable steps. This approach can relieve users from feeling overwhelmed and give them the confidence to complete the task.

Highlight the suggested alternatives

By highlighting or prioritizing a preferred option in your design, you can guide users through the decision-making process and reassure them that they are making the right choice.

For example, A cookie consent form has three options: accept the cookies, decline, or learn more about the magazine’s privacy settings. The suggested option, allowing the cookies, is highlighted with a splash of color and an emoji.

Amazon check-out process: Hicks rule example 

Amazon’s checkout process breaks each stage into its page. When users go to the checkout, they are initially requested to enter their shipping address. The next page collects their payment information, and the final page summarizes the shipping and billing information. Every page includes a clear call to action for customers.

Amazon stops users from being overwhelmed by the amount of information requested on the site by breaking down the checkout process into several steps. This ensures a smooth checkout procedure for their clients and reduces frustration, resulting in a better user experience.

Don’t forget analytical insights.

It is also critical to monitor how Hick’s rule may be influencing your users’ experience. You can use the following variables to analyze it:

Time on site 

Most websites have a sweet spot regarding time spent on their site. If it is longer, the user is likely to have abandoned the purchase or registration process. They may spend too much time engrossed in information consumption and fail to make a purchase or register. With adequate time, most users who intend to purchase and register will do so.

Once a site is up, you may begin to determine where the sweet spot is and apply Hick’s rule to increase or decrease the average amount of time spent on the site.

While streamlining decision-making can increase on-site time, it may also decrease it. Suppose the decision-making process is so straightforward that users make little progress toward their goals each time they decide. In that case, they are just as likely to leave as users who find the process impossible to understand because they have seen too many options simultaneously.

Page views 

Hick’s rule can also influence the amount of page views that each user makes. If the navigation menu is overly complex, the number of page views will be fewer than if users were given a more user-friendly navigation menu.

Of course, page views are only valid if users achieve their goals while on the site. Creating an intense menu system with binary options that took ten or more clicks to access the desired information would be simple. Unfortunately, if you designed it, users would leave the site before getting the required information. 

The takeaway

There are many guidelines and best practices for web design. However, a common underlying principle among the majority of these recommendations is to avoid adding unnecessary complexity that could burden users who already face many demands in their daily lives.

Frequently asked questions

What is the principle of hicks law?

Hicks law, also known as the Hick–Hyman law of UX, explains the relationship between the number of choices presented to a person and the time it takes for them to make a decision. Specifically, it states that as the number of options increases, the decision time will also increase logarithmically. 

In simpler terms, the more options someone has, the longer it will take them to decide. This principle is often applied in psychology, user experience design, and decision-making studies to understand how the number of choices can impact decision-making processes.

How to apply hicks law?

To apply Hicks Law effectively in a user experience (UX) design context, designers should strive to simplify the decision-making process by reducing the number of choices presented to users. 

This can be done by prioritizing key actions or options, using a clear visual hierarchy, and minimizing distractions that could overwhelm users with too many choices. By understanding and implementing Hicks Law, designers can create more intuitive and user-friendly interfaces that lead to better user experiences.

What is an example of hicks law in UX? 

An example of Hicks Law in UX design is the design of a navigation menu on a website.

Scenario: Imagine a website with a navigation menu. If the menu has fewer options, users might feel overwhelmed and take longer to decide where to click. This can lead to frustration and a poorer user experience.

Application of hick’s law: To apply Hicks Law, a designer might simplify the navigation by grouping related items into submenus or reducing the number of top-level options. For instance, instead of having separate links for “Products,” “Services,” “Solutions,” and “Support,” the designer might consolidate these into a “Products & Services” menu with dropdown options. 

This reduces the number of choices users face at any given time, making it easier to decide quickly and efficiently.

What is the formula for hick’s rule?

The formula for Hick’s law is:

RT = a + b log2(n)

Where:

RT = reaction time.

a = time spent not making decisions

b = an empirically derived constant based on the time it takes to comprehend each option cognitively (hint: it is around 0.155 seconds for humans).

log2 = the logarithm function.

(n) =  the number of equally plausible choices.