Miller’s Law: How to Limit and Group Information on Your Website for Better UX/UI Design

Web design and web development are two interrelated fields that require both technical and creative skills. One of the main goals of web design and development is to create user-friendly and engaging websites that meet the needs and expectations of the target audience. However, designing and developing a website is not an easy task, as it involves many factors and challenges, such as usability, accessibility, functionality, aesthetics, content, navigation, layout, and more.

To achieve a good UX/UI design, web designers and developers need to apply various principles and guidelines that are based on human psychology, behavior, and cognition. One of these principles is Miller’s Law, which is a useful tool to understand how users process and remember information on a website. In this article, we will explain what Miller’s Law is, how it works, how to use it in UX and UI design, and provide three real examples of web design that apply Miller’s Law.

What is Miller’s Law?

Miller’s Law was proposed by the American psychologist George Miller in 1956, based on his observation that the human short-term memory has a limited capacity to store information. According to Miller’s Law, the average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory at a time. This means that if a user is presented with more than 7 items of information on a website, they will have difficulty processing, understanding, and remembering them.

Miller’s Law also suggests that one way to overcome this limitation is to use chunking, which is a technique of organizing information into smaller and meaningful groups or units. By chunking information into smaller chunks, users can reduce the cognitive load and increase the amount of information they can remember. For example, instead of remembering a 10-digit phone number as 1234567890, users can remember it as 123-456-7890, which is divided into three chunks of 3-3-4 digits.

How to use Miller’s Law in UX design

UX design is concerned with the overall experience that users have when interacting with a website. It involves aspects such as usability, accessibility, functionality, content, navigation, layout, and more. To use Miller’s Law in UX design, web designers and developers need to consider how users process and remember information on a website, and how to reduce the cognitive load and enhance the comprehension and recall of users.

One way to use Miller’s Law in UX design is to limit the number of options or choices that users have on a website. For example, if a website has too many menu items or buttons on its navigation bar or homepage, users may feel overwhelmed or confused by the amount of information they have to deal with. To avoid this problem, web designers and developers can use Miller’s Law as a guideline to limit the number of options or choices to 7 (plus or minus 2), or group them into smaller categories or submenus.

Another way to use Miller’s Law in UX design is to simplify the content and layout of a website. For example, if a website has too much text or images on its pages, users may have difficulty reading or scanning the information they need. To avoid this problem, web designers and developers can use Miller’s Law as a guideline to break down the content and layout into smaller chunks or sections that are easy to read or scan. For instance, they can use headings, subheadings, bullet points, lists, tables, graphs, icons, images, videos, or other visual elements to organize and present the information in a clear and concise way.

How to use Miller’s Law in UI design

UI design is concerned with the visual elements and components that facilitate the interaction between users and a website. It involves aspects such as colors, fonts, icons, buttons, forms, sliders, menus, tabs, and more. To use Miller’s Law in UI design, web designers and developers need to consider how users perceive and respond to the visual elements and components on a website, and how to make them attractive, consistent, and intuitive.

One way to use Miller’s Law in UI design is to limit the number of colors, fonts, icons, or other visual elements that are used on a website. For example, if a website has too many colors, fonts, icons, or other visual elements on its pages, users may feel distracted or confused by the lack of harmony or coherence. To avoid this problem, web designers and developers can use Miller’s Law as a guideline to limit the number of colors, fonts, icons, or other visual elements to 7 (plus or minus 2), or use them in a consistent and meaningful way.

Another way to use Miller’s Law in UI design is to simplify the forms, sliders, menus, tabs, or other interactive components that are used on a website. For example, if a website has too many fields, options, steps, or layers in its forms, sliders, menus, tabs, or other interactive components, users may feel frustrated or annoyed by the complexity or difficulty of the interaction. To avoid this problem, web designers and developers can use Miller’s Law as a guideline to simplify the forms, sliders, menus, tabs, or other interactive components by reducing the number of fields, options, steps, or layers to 7 (plus or minus 2), or grouping them into smaller and logical chunks or stages.

Three real examples of web design that apply Miller’s Law

To illustrate how Miller’s Law can be applied in web design, we will provide three real examples of websites that use this principle in their UX and UI design.

Netflix

Netflix is a popular online streaming service that offers a wide range of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and more. Netflix uses Miller’s Law in its UX and UI design by limiting and grouping the information and options that users have on its website.

For example, Netflix limits the number of menu items on its navigation bar to 6, which are Home, TV Shows, Movies, Latest, My List, and Browse. These menu items are clear and concise, and allow users to easily access the main categories of content that Netflix offers. Moreover, Netflix groups the content into smaller and meaningful chunks or sections, such as Trending Now, New Releases, Popular on Netflix, Top Picks for You, and more. These sections are organized by genre, theme, preference, or recommendation, and help users to find the content they are interested in.

Furthermore, Netflix simplifies the interaction and visual elements on its website by using consistent and intuitive colors, fonts, icons, buttons, sliders, and more. For instance, Netflix uses red as its main color, which is associated with its logo and brand identity. Netflix also uses white and black as its secondary colors, which create contrast and clarity on its pages. Additionally, Netflix uses simple and recognizable icons, such as the play button, the plus button, the thumbs up button, and the thumbs down button. These icons help users to easily play, add, like, or dislike the content they watch. Moreover, Netflix uses sliders to display the content in a horizontal scrollable way. These sliders allow users to see more content without cluttering the page or loading a new page.

Ebay

Ebay is a popular online marketplace that allows users to buy and sell a variety of products. Ebay uses Miller’s Law in its UX and UI design by limiting and grouping the information and options that users have on its website.

For example, Ebay limits the number of options or choices that users have on its homepage to 7 (plus or minus 2), which are Shop by category, Daily Deals, Brand Outlet, Help & Contact, Sell, Watchlist, and My Ebay. These options or choices are easy to understand and access, and allow users to quickly navigate to the main features or functions that Ebay offers. Moreover, Ebay groups the products into smaller and relevant categories or subcategories, such as Electronics, Fashion, Home & Garden, Motors, Collectibles & Art, Sporting Goods, Toys & Hobbies, and more. These categories or subcategories are organized by type, industry, interest, or demand, and help users to find the products they are looking for.

Spotify

Spotify is a popular online music streaming service that allows users to listen to millions of songs, podcasts, playlists, and more. Spotify uses Miller’s Law in its UX and UI design by limiting and grouping the information and options that users have on its website.

For example, Spotify limits the number of menu items on its navigation bar to 5, which are Home, Browse, Library, Search, and Premium. These menu items are simple and straightforward, and allow users to easily access the main sections or features that Spotify offers. Moreover, Spotify groups the music into smaller and personalized chunks or sections, such as Made For You, Recently Played, Your Top Podcasts, Your Daily Mixes, and more. These sections are based on user’s preferences, history, mood, or recommendation, and help users to discover and enjoy the music they love.

Furthermore, Spotify simplifies the visual and interactive elements on its website by using consistent and intuitive colors, fonts, icons, buttons, sliders, and more. For example, Spotify uses green as its main color, which is associated with its logo and brand identity. Spotify also uses white and black as its secondary colors, which create contrast and clarity on its pages. Additionally, Spotify uses simple and recognizable icons, such as the play button, the pause button, the heart button, and the shuffle button. These icons help users to easily play, pause, like, or shuffle the music they listen to. Moreover, Spotify uses sliders to display the music in a horizontal scrollable way. These sliders allow users to see more music without cluttering the page or loading a new page.

Conclusions

Miller’s Law is a useful principle that web designers and developers can use to improve the UX and UI design of their websites. By applying Miller’s Law in web design and development, web designers and developers can limit and group the information and options that users have on a website, simplify the content and layout of a website, simplify the forms, sliders, menus, tabs, or other interactive components that are used on a website, and enhance the user satisfaction, loyalty, trust, and conversion.

Bibliography

[1] G. A. Miller, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information”, Psychological Review, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 81-97, 1956.

[2] J. Sweller, “Element Interactivity and Intrinsic, Extraneous, and Germane Cognitive Load”, Educational Psychology Review, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 123-138, 2010.

[3] N. G. Neilson and J. Loranger, “Prioritizing Web Usability”, New Riders Publishing, 2006.

[4] S. Krug, “Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability”, New Riders Publishing, 2014.

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