Users Have Great Expectations
When I buy a mobile phone I expect it to be able to ring, to save my messages and not to run off of battery in a day; because that’s why they call it “mobile”. The same, when I am searching something on the web or when I enter a page, I’d rather not install all kind of plug-ins just to see the page. I expect to see all the characters. I’d rather the ads don’t turn the navigation process into a winding maze.
The questions is: In what amount does your product respond to the users’ needs? Satisfying the need of simplicity and organization is not just the cherry on top, which you may offer as a favor. It is the dought itself.
About the usability of websites and web based applications. In other words, about making the searching / navigation process easier for the user. So that he comes to feel the things are working on their own and he does not have to stress in order to find the home link or the word he initially searched on Google. Because, unconsciously, we all have certain representations about a menu, about the place of the Shopping Cart or the link of the foreign language version. We are familiarized with Arial and Times NR and not with Haettenschweiler or Kartika.
Do not try to re-invente the wheel. Improve it. Because our expectations are based on what we already know. And when it comes to usability: the simplier, the easier. And more visited. 