Let's get this out of the way- How important is design to a website?

Answer - (And designers are going to hate this) Not at all

Ask yourselves this - is the Tesco site pretty? Is the BBC site looking as good as it could?

Is the eBay site stunning in its looks?

No

Of course they aren't. And yet they are amongst the most successful online entities to exist.

Why?

Good designers? -Nope

Good Graphic artists? Nope

Good site planning? - Yep

The spirit of the internet is about the here and now, the offer of immediacy and the acceptance that people who come to the site want it now and more importantly, can get it.

So, really, how important is design?

Well, there are two camps - there is the need to fill users with confidence and let them belive that a well designed site costs a lot of money, so the punter will say 'Yes this is trustworthy' or the site where price is king and really it doesn't matter what it looks like as long as there are safeguards.

Which one do you think will be the most popular? - Yep, price most of the time.

Be absolutely assured I am not saying that design does not have a part to play in a website. Far from it, a site that gives the visitors confidence and is easy on the eye will win over the psychedelic every time.

The most important factor though in every site is functionality.

The ability to find what you are looking for easily and without pain.

Though it has to be said a lot of website design is down to choice. I have known many, many site owners become so pre-occupied with how a site looks that they miss the obvious - what does your site say to potential customers?