3 Little Buckets
1st edition — by Patrick McNeil — May 7, 2007
The Design Element
It seems there is an endless supply of things that come in threes. The number holds some magic that just plain works. On the web we often find manifestations of threes on home pages. Three steps to do something, three key selling points, three main products, three main options. We love threes. I believe it is because it is an easy to consume amount of information. Three options isn't so bad. Put 10 options on the page (of equal weight) and we become lost. I can't say how many web sites I have worked on that had 3 nice little buckets on the home page. Sometimes it creeps up to four, and it still works, but it can be very near to much. Three is most certainly the sweet spot.
Notice how many of them are action items, and quiet frequently they contain a button to inspire the user to do something. Consider the fact that these sets of buckets present themselves as a single visual entity. The user then scans through it. The point is that it is a massive visual draw and is the perfect spot to put a call to action. What do you want your users to do? Sign up for an eval? Request more information? Register with the site? What ever it is this is a perfect spot to encourage it.
Sample Usage
