I recently visited the web site of a company that provides requirements-management software. Their home page consisted of exactly two "enter here" links and a check box (to remember my "enter here" preference). This home page demanded I enter the site as either and "IT user" or a "business user." There were no other navigation options; I had to make a choice:
What is particularly interesting about this choice is that it not only forces me to self-identify as one or the other, it also implies some sort of conflict/unrest between the two. The IT user and the business user look like they are having some sort of stare-down. Honestly, I didn't want to choose either one! But aside from that, I truly didn't know which I should select.
Sometimes, it makes sense to organize information by user type. College sites do this (parents, students, faculty and staff...) as do health insurers (members, employers, providers...). These are distinct groups with distinct informational needs. For example, the homepage of Georgetown University prominently features self-identify links in the center of the page, but provides other topic categories on the left side of the page:
Forcing users to self-identify should never be the sole gateway to the site's information. If people can't identify with any of the options, they will feel stuck.
