Answer: cookies

Cookies? Yes. Let me explain...

=> COOKIES EXPLAINED

A "cookie" is simply a small piece of text information which a web server stores temporarily with your web visitor's browser. (Note: cookies are *not* programs.) This means your visitor's browser remembers some specific information which web server can later retrieve.

So cookies simply allow your site to store information on your visitor's computer for later retrieval.

A basic example of a cookie in action can be found here - http://members.rediff.com/lc/cookies.htm

Another example is "online shopping mall" that uses cookies to add items to a user's "shopping cart" as they browse. And I use cookies on my own website to make sure a pop-up window loads ONCE ONLY ( http://www.shoptour.co.uk/webmaster.shtml ).

=> WHY YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD USE COOKIES

Basically, cookies allow you to improve a site visitor's experience of your website. I've listed a few examples to show how this can be achieved:

* Cookies can store visitor preferences. This means you can present customised information to your visitor, as per their own requirements. (This is how portal sites like MSN work.)

* Cookies can pre-fill form fields for your visitor.

* Cookies can automatically login visitors to your site

* Cookies can provide visitor statistics and therefore help you understand your visitor's needs. Cookies can provide site metrics like unique visitors, average number of page-views, percentage of repeat visitors, et cetera. And cookie-generated statistics are much more accurate than using log files.

(Do remember though, that people sometimes share computers; some browsers are set to reject cookies; AND cookies can be erased.)

So not only are cookies an efficient way of keeping track of information, they also help personalise a site visitor's experience of your site.

This is not a new criticism, people have been saying it for years. Notice i used word people, because thats exactly who suffers. You, me and millions of people like us who are visiting those sites during our virtual travels. Many of these businesses do actually have great products and services to offer us, its just that they havent put effort in to find out what we, their customers want. They havent bothered to find out about us, about our needs, about our wishes. They have other more pressing priorities it seems. So they just present them to us any old way and hope we dont notice or are too stupid to notice. Dont they understand they are losing sales, customers, repeat customers, referrals and more?

Whether your business has a whole team working on your website or just you, its going to take some effort and commitment to get to a point where your website is satisfying your customers. A website where you have a direct conversation with your visiting potential customers. A conversation where they feel you are talking directly to them. A conversation where they feel you understand them. You understand their needs and wishes like no other business has done before. In short, a place where you connect with your customers and they connect with you. A place where you are entirely focused on them, NOT on you. Not on your products, not on your credentials or ego, not on anything else about you.