Hick’s Law

Hick’s Law states that the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of available options. In UX design, this principle highlights the importance of simplifying choices for users to reduce cognitive load and decision-making time. For instance, presenting fewer options or grouping similar actions can lead to faster, more efficient interactions.

Hick's Law is the scientific basis for 'less is more' in navigation and menu design. It explains why adding more pricing tiers, more filter options, or more navigation items can decrease conversions — more choices means slower decisions and higher abandonment. For SaaS pricing pages, the principle suggests capping plan options at 3-4, each with clearly differentiated positioning, to maximize conversion speed.

Apple's product lineup is famously minimal — for years they sold just a handful of Mac configurations. Steve Jobs explicitly cited the need to reduce choices so customers could make decisions quickly. When Apple simplified from dozens of Mac models to a small focused lineup, sales improved despite the reduced SKU count.