It does seem like a silly question but I think the fact is that not many do.
My reason behind thinking that very few site owners ever visit their own sites is because I always find so many errors(function) on so many sites, the owners simply CANT be using the sites or they would be fixed….
Most "problems" end up being reported by users over time, but this should and could be prevented if the site owner ever just typed in their URL and used the site like a User from time to time!
An example was an error I kept getting at Afternic.com last week. I kept getting a security error with each and every link that I clicked. It was really ticking me off and I was trying to get some things done. I was sure to report this issue with detailed directions of the error I was having. A short time after reporting the error, I was contacted with a Thank You and it will be fixed shortly.
The next day the Pop-Up box was gone and the site was back in normal working order. (your welcome, as I’m sure you were getting that little box as well if you were using afternic) It just shows that it didn’t get fixed on it’s own, it was because I brought it to their attention that it was fixed.
Now if I wouldn’t of contacted Afternic, I’m sure that darn little pop-up would still be coming up today… So I advise you, if you notice a problem with a site that you use, take a minute or two and send their support an email about the issue. Like I said, it’s very likely the site owner doesn’t ever visit their own site.
If you happen to be a site owner, I suggest you get on your site and use it like your users do. You might discover some functions that are not very user friendly or some functions that simply do not work. A well working site makes users happy and invites them back!
Damir
Great post Champion (Jamie).
I do visit my websites and make sure that the site loads fast, all the links work well – I have paid the price in the past as it costs more than money if the website does NOT work.