With all of our focus on the backend code, sometimes we loose sight of the "user experience" that every person has when they come to our site. We worry more about functionality and less about how they interact with the site. This usually results in a lackluster user experience and people not coming back. But fear not! The cranky user from IBM developerWorks is here with a bit of wisdom to help us out.

Most customization options do very little to alleviate repetitive tasks. Cutting a few centimeters off of the total area a mouse travels in a 10-step process does not substantially alter the time it takes to perform the process. On the other hand, certain customization options are very important, at least for some users. This month I'll discuss the variety of customization options available and talk about which ones are most useful. I'll also evaluate how well customizable software adapts to users' needs.

He talks about skinning, general appearance, and button bars/menus - what's good, what's bad, and what most sites could do without...it's a pretty good read for those working maybe in a smaller shop where there's not so much design work going on, keeping a little lesson like this in mind...