It stuns me that so many people develop and iterate web sites (not just personal sites, bt multimillion dollar marketing sites) in complete absence of server log data. They don't see the vitality in looking at the logs, relying instead on user testing (server logs are user testing!) or worse, personal intuition.

Your server logs are your map, and driving without them inhibits you from staying on the road. Aggregation log analysis tools like analog wusage and webtrends are great (and Personify really is great, if you can afford it), there isn't really a substitute for getting into your log files and actually watching a user's path through your site. If you do this now and then (using grep to isolate an IP and 'tail -f' to get a running realtime output stream ala the Matrix) you start to get a real feel for the audience on your site. You understand where they go, how long they think beforemaking a decision, what they like, what they don't, and what, in particular, makes them come back.

If you run a site but don't have access to your weblogs, get them. They're the holy grail of your readers, and they'll teach you things you'd never expect about how to make your site better, not just for you, but for the people who matter.

Examples forthcoming...