The Web is supposed to be fun, informative, intuitive and?ultimately?better than television. But no matter how inane or uncreative TV advertising is, it’s got one significant advantage over the Web. On TV, learning about a product or even buying that product through a toll-free number isn’t hard work. All you have to do is sit there. The message comes to you. With many sites on the Web, the user has to work, either downloading plug-ins or navigating through a byzantine collection of screens. Companies with poorly designed websites are in effect breaking a cardinal rule of selling: They make it hard for consumers to consume.

Now that surfing the Internet for product information is second nature to a lot of people, it’s even more important for companies to offer websites that can accommodate a range of technical capabilities. The Web, after all, is still a giant billboard first and a transaction platform second. Increasingly, many potential customers will first learn about a company and its wares through the Internet. Make a bad impression online, and companies won’t be given the opportunity to make up for it in person.

As for that new car, I really have my sights set on a certain model, and it just so happens that I live around the corner from a dealer. So I stopped by on my way home from work one day.

I told the sales rep I couldn’t access the website. He appeared bemused. "There’s much more information about the cars on the Internet," he said, as he rummaged inside his desk for a dusty brochure.

Tell me about it.