Hick's Law
The more options on screen, the longer it takes to choose, and the more people choose nothing.
What it is
Decision time grows with the number and complexity of choices. Past a point, the effort of choosing outweighs the appeal of any single option and people defer, abandon or pick the default. Reducing the visible options, or staging them, brings the decision back within reach.
The research
A tasting table with 24 jams drew more shoppers than a table with 6, but only 3% of them bought. The 6-jam table converted 30% of its visitors.
Iyengar and Lepper, 2000
How to use it
One primary action per screen
Give every page a single obvious next step and demote the rest to text links.
Cut the navigation
Five menu items outperform twelve. Move the rest into the footer.
Recommend a plan
Label one tier "most popular" so the choice becomes accept-or-adjust rather than compare-everything.
Related
Sources that shaped this entry: growth.design, Kolenda.io.