Nielsen on copying website designs

In this interesting article Jakob Nielsen considers whether it's a good idea to copy approaches used by successful websites. Worth a read if you've ever been told by a manager or customer, "I want one of those".


The article includes examples and as you might expect the conclusion pretty much is - it depends, and whatever you decide check it out with your target audience.

Nielsen says:

Although successful websites typically have high usability, average sites can hurt their business by copying design elements that don't work well in other contexts.

Should You Copy a Famous Site's Design? - article by Jakob Nielsen