Jakob's Law: Don't Reinvent the UI Wheel

Jakob's Law states that users spend most of their time on other sites, building strong mental models for how the web works. They expect your site to follow these same conventions. By using standard patterns for navigation, icons (like a shopping cart), and workflows, you lower their cognitive load and let them focus on their task, not on learning your interface. The footgun is prioritizing a "unique" design over usability, which forces users to learn new rules and often leads to frustration and abandonment.