Web Breakdown for two USGS websites- User Interface

It is hard for me to be unbiased in critiquing the USGS web based mapping applications, because there has been times when I needed to use the application and floundered for hours trying to figure it out. I experienced this frustration as a person who knows GIS, and could not even imagine trying to use the website if I had no prior knowledge. Although perhaps these experiences give me an upper hand in knowing just how important user interface design is.
The first website I visited; http://tnm2beta.cr.usgs.gov/viewer/, had bright buttons and didn't seem to be overly weighed down by functions and menus. That being said, upon further inspection, there were multiple menus to navigate they were simply hidden in the beginning. I did not understand the choice of GIS tools given to the user, as even I didn't know what or why a person would want to "reverse geocode". I know what the action of geocode means but would a non-GIS professional? And why would one want to reverse it? This brings up another point to user interface design, which is that not only should certain things be hidden but also the language used to describe an action should be appropriately pedestrian. The website should not say "geocode" but maybe "find addresses" or some other similarly easy to understand term. The other factor in this web application is doing a fully fledged GIS application on the internet, which limits dramatically the speed and processing powers. The USGS website showcases this very well with its exceedingly S....l.....o.....w..... display and processing. Overall I think this website fails in regards to ease of use, especially in relation to a user who has not worked with GIS before.
The second website I checked out; http://nmviewogc.cr.usgs.gov/viewer.htm, was laid out in a much easier to follow way, with the tools labeled with simple names. Again there was a problem with the wording in the name "layers" which could be labeled something more intuitive like "look up _______". There were multiple layer choices, but in this case I think they are warranted; many people from different sectors are most likely using this website and they probable need various different sets of data. However the download process is completely unimaginable with no clear indication on how to retrieve the data once you've figured out to show it. There are no directions and even the help section was no help. The display and processing takes a very long time- this is not a web 2.0 application. Overall this mapping application was better than the other one, and much improved since the last time I used it but definitely falling short of ideal.
From these examples you can see why the user interface design is very important, and how limiting the options and corralling the language of the application could increase the ease of use for clients.