I was talking to a web developer this week who complained about “more and more idiots” that visit a website he maintains for a client. His verdict was that if they’re not smart enough to do what he intended them to while on the site, they shouldn’t be visiting at all.

Well, I bet you’d have to reduce your visitor base to almost zero with that sort of thinking.

Now, I’m online a lot; I’d say I’m pretty Internet-savvy. And I do sometimes find myself frantically looking for that next logical step in the process, for example, “where the heck is that ‘next’ button?” And I look and look and look, and finally, oh, there it is! Whew. Even Internet-savvy people often wish things were a bit more idiot-proof.

So, ask yourself this: is your thinking more like “if we build it, they will come, and they better know how to navigate our site, or else?” Or, is your thinking “this is an ongoing process where we constantly improve our visitors’ experience?”