"Reaction time is a factor, so please pay attention" -- words uttered in the opening lines of the sci-fi classic Bladerunner shortly before the speaker got shot repeatedly. Clearly, he wasn't paying attention. The point -- pay attention to your customers! Building a website might seem like an exercise in personal taste to portray your vision, but in fact it is an exercise in creating a site that appeals to your audience and creating a viable online revenue stream.

All to often clients come to us with an idea and a vision for a website that doesn't quite match with the goals of the site. Separating personal tastes and business goals can be a difficult task for anyone. Much of a business is defined by the owner's vision and much of the owner is defined by his/her passion for the business. Creating an online presence certainly should take this into account, however this should not be the driving factor when developing for the web.

Developing for the web is a complex task that must take into account, first and foremost, the GOAL of the site. For example, for an e-commerce site the goal is to sell product. Yes, your story and vision is important to you, but users of the site may or may not care. They are shopping. When they come to your store, do you stop customers and tell them how you started the business and your personal business goals and philosophy? Chances are - no. Customers visit your store to buy product and your website should reflect this as well. Setting up a successful online "buying" environment depends heavily a few key factors:

1) Get users to product in the most unobstructed ways possible. Fancy flash intros and graphics are well and good, but who are they for? You or the customer? Your vision and philosophy should be available but your product needs to be front and center.

2) Provide an easy to use, intuitive experience. Elaborate navigation and "cute" features that ultimately confuse and frustrate customers serves no one. Customers get frustrated, you lose sales.

3) Provide good quality photography and detailed information. Shopping online is difficult because you can't touch and personally inspect product. Don't inhibit and discourage sales by providing poor photography, too few shots and too little information. Spend the extra money for professional photography and spend the extra time to provide detailed information about the product. You'll be happy you did.

4) Be quick or be dead! The biggest and most important key for success is being responsive and receptive to your customers needs. If something isn't working on your site, who cares how much you paid or how much you personally like it-- ditch it! Any time customers talk, listen. Without them you wouldn't be in business. This is enormously important on the web. When shopping online the world is literally at your finger tips. Bad usability and/or customer annoyances will certainly assure that they will never return to your site given the vast selection available.

This are just a few factors and considerations for creating a successful website and they don't just apply to e-commerce. Usability and your ability to anticipate and react to customer needs is paramount.