So get this:

The ____ for Dummies and the Idiots guide to ____ books have sold 120 million copies between them (100 mil for dummies, 20 mil for idiots). The "Dummies" series has 796 titles (69 new this year) and "Idiot's" has 450 titles (79 this year). Details...

This is just since 1991 when the first copy of "DOS for Dummies" was introduced.

I know I own a couple myself - and obviously I'm not alone.

The question is this: why do these books have such appeal? The answer isn't rocket science of course, it's because we like to have it spoon fed to us. We don't want to have to work real hard at "getting it." Plus many of us feel we missed the train when it went by, and everyone else hopped on. We want to catch up, and we want to do it fast.

This is perhaps the single biggest mistake most companies make when they create a website. It's just too darn hard to understand and use. And your visitors don't have the interest or time to work a learning curve just so you can communicate with them. It's your job to create understanding, not theirs.

It is critical that your site be designed for dummies. Strip it down, simplify it. Remove 50% of your copy, and then get rid of half of what is left. Put "click here" where people are supposed to click. Make everything obvious. (Your sophisticated users won't mind if your site is more obvious and clear to use, trust me). Don't try to do more than 1 or 2 things on any given page (even your home page).

If you start with this approach to web design I suspect you will be amazed at the response you get from visitors. I recently advised and helped a client implement a brain-dead simple solution to helping them present holiday shopping to their visitors. The day it launched sales spiked over 50% and have held solid for a month and counting.

While it won't bring traffic to your site, or improve your product - simplifying and (re)designing your site for dummies will make the money you spend getting visitors to your site, far less likely to be wasted money.