On the image at left, note the red dot -- that's where the average Web visitor first looks when arriving at a Web page. Makes sense; the logo and tagline and usually here.

Follow the line and you'll see something long touted by usability folks such as Steve Krug -- people don't read Web pages, they scan them. The eye bounces from graphic element to graphic element (picture, headline, subhead, bold text), and this is so important, I'll return to it later.

Note the final arrow. That's where most Web sites have their search box. The average visitor has scanned the page and is now wondering whether to stay or go, and if he's staying, does he follow the navigation (normally at the top) or go straight to the search box.

Here's one from nearly 10 years in this field -- you'd be amazed how many people navigate by search no matter how good the navigational scheme may be. Always keep that in mind.

Back to the point about the graphic elements. In the design world, this is known as gaze motion -- the reason that, in ads, the toe of the shoe usually points to the price, the reason ads for watches all have the same time of day.

The visual elements must work on a graphic design level (an uncluttered, pleasing look), they must work on an information architecture level (to give the visitor cues as to how to move about the site), and they must work on a search engine recognition level (tying the typographical conventions to the keywords is crucial).

From an industry-competitive standpoint, my biggest advantage is not that I understand all three levels explained above, though it's a skillset that's quite rare. No, my biggest advantage is that when it comes to those subheads and bullet points, I can write compelling copy.

Believe me, the most underrated aspect of the Web is finding the right tone.

The graphic on the right, the priority squares, comes from what the Eyetools experts call a heat map, the aggregation of all time spent looking at certain areas. This provides a valuable roadmap as to how to design your pages for maximum effectiveness.

It is important to remember that in graphic design there are no facts, only opinions, and when it comes to gaining approval for the graphic design of a Web site, it's useful to steer away from the opinions and focus on what facts are verifiable. The priority zone map is quantifiable evidence dictating where important items should be placed.

Another set of quantifiable facts comes from user path analysis (what pages are visited from what links). Traffic logs generally provide hard evidence of what is working in a design and what is not.

Easily, 40 percent of my work since January 1996 has been as a Web doctor. In case after case, I've seen people get exactly what they want in their Web redesign only to discover later that it didn't work.

That's where I come in. Sometimes the cure is major surgery, but more often than not, the Web doctor's prescription is far less intrusive. It's a field where little subtle changes can carry a lot of weight, and it starts with a simple principle.

Your customers are your best source of information.