So lets assume you have a web site project, you've got the domain name and you've found a web host; if you don't already have the web site then you'll need to think about web site design.

Web site design is extremely important when it comes to the success of your web site. The design of your website is important on multiple levels. You need web usability and ease of navigation. You need web site aesthetics and a friendly and welcoming look. You need good web architecture so your site is easy to populate and update as needed. You need a smart web developer who can program and design your website to be naturally very friendly with search engines. No traffic to your website can guarantee your lack of success.

Web Usability:
You don't want a site that is difficult to navigate. The home page should be clean and easy to read. The menu should be easy to locate and if it takes you more than one second to find it then you need to work on it. You should give the user an idea of where they are in your website in relation to the site as a whole; perspective is key. You should know what your user wants and they should easily know how to get where they need to. So think breadcrumbs. Implement these hierarchical links somewhere easily visible. Example breadcrumb for this page: home > web hosting articles > web site design. Your site should be well organized. Remember even with a huge website a user should ideally get to any other page in your website in ideally under 2 to 3 mouse clicks.


Web Site Aesthetics:
Come on really, who likes an ugly website? If you're paying for a website the least you expect is to have an ugly website. Even if nobody is visiting your site but you there's no reason to have an ugly looking website. It is unprofessional and a reflection of web design in general. Even if navigation and site usability are promising, an easy way to turn off web users is having an ugly site. Web graphics, images, background textures, color usage are all important. Being a good web designer requires a talent to make good-looking websites or at the very least an eye for catching what looks good and what looks bad. Don't make your website look like 4 year old developed it. Have pride in how your website looks and the overall aesthetics of it.

Web Architecture:
Imagine having a one-story home with poorly assembled brick, no supporting steel beams and missing concrete in the basement. Then imagine having to remodel this home into a 2-story home. Without good foundation its very difficult to design or implement a good website and it is often more difficult to make seemingly simple updates to the site. Just as you would have to go back to this home, rip it up and install steel beams, add more concrete and re-brick the house in order to add a second story, you will also have to destroy a substantial portion of the website and re-design the site at its core prior to making some web site changes. It is very important to design a website with scalability in mind. The MySQL or SQL server database has to be programmed intelligently as to accommodate updates and growth. The website has to be database driven and easy to update. Scripting technologies, database servers, CSS, and most importantly a smart web site architect planner can save you lots of money, time and a headache in the long run if things are planned and designed well from the beginning.

Web Site Design with SEO in mind:
SEO is search engine optimization. When you design a website this should be foremost on your mind. What's the purpose of developing a website that nobody can see? What's the point of your easy navigation, great-looking site and bad-ass content management system that makes updating your site a breeze when nobody will even see it? Search engine optimization is key and is a must. It shouldn't be something you do after a website is done; it is integral and at the heart of the website. You need your web developer and your web designer to plan for and make the site search engine optimized. If your site has poor traffic for quite some time and someone comes to you and says they want to optimize your website for search engines, but they don't say they want to re-develop or re-design your website then it's bull crap. What they might be doing is marketing your site (they'll probably do that poorly too) but they won't be optimizing your site unless they plan on changing the core structure and/or content of the site.

Remember this: web site design is critical to your website success and it does not simply entail a cool looking and fancy website. It's all about web site usability, web site aesthetics, a strong website architecture/foundation and site with SEO at its core. Don't skimp out on these components and you'll likely have a successful website on your hands.