You say, "Tomato," I say, "Solanum Lycopersicum." I say that, of course, because I am an expert agriculturalist. (I'm definitely not. I killed the two plants I tried to grow. So I had kids, instead.) If you're an expert in something, you will be plagued by the curse of knowledge when trying to communicate with someone who isn't well-versed in the subject. In the field of web design, this is a double-edged sword. As a designer, I need to relate to my clients effectively. And when building a website, my client and I need to relate to our site visitors.

Let's look at designing your site's information architecture, which affects both designers and business owners.

Say, you have a manufacturing company which creates air filters. You create many different types of filters which have all sorts of different purposes. On your website, you can list in your Products section:

• Metal Mesh
• Pleated Filters
• Polypropylene Filters
• Polyester Filters

This might be the logical organizational structure for you, as things might be arranged according to their manufacturing process and their use, or something else convenient for you. Your visitor might be an expert building maintenance person who understands what they mean. You work with filters all the time, so using that terminology is second nature to you. For most of you, though, it's just gobbledygook, and your eyes glaze like a day-old doughnut.

The alternative to the above list, would be to list things in much simpler terms. Terms which may actually affect your internal organizational process, but which make more sense to your users. Let's say we listed the above filter categories as:

• Permanent Filters
• Disposable Filters
• Marine Environment
• Cut-To-Fit Filters

Wow! Those actually make sense! Using simpler terminology may seem obvious to you, when reading about air filters. But look at your own business and your own website. Does your information architecture take into account people who don't have the same sophistication and knowledge about your business that you do? Is your naming convention only for people In The Know? Are you turning customers and visitors away because they're confused or uncertain? Causing the slightest hesitation can make someone click the little "X" at the top of the page. Leaving your online store is a lot easier than walking out of a building.

So how do you make sure you're not over-burdening your website visitors with confusing information? Ask them! Speak to your customers, have a feedback form on your website, and send out email surveys. Call your biggest clients on the phone for their opinions. Approach the problem from the perspective of your users - what are they looking for? - rather than your own internal process. Then you ask them for their thoughts. The only way to know what works is to let them tell you what works!

Taking your user's objectives and expertise into account when creating the structure of your website will give your visitors a better experience and keep them coming back for more.