What good is it if you have great content and a beautiful design but your users can't find what they are looking for or it takes so long to download they click away before even seeing it? These are just two things to address if you want a truly functional site that delivers.
DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE NAVIGATION SCHEME
If you have ever traversed a large corporation's web site, you know the potential for getting lost in a maze of 
links. Good web designers avoid this by creating a navigation scheme that is effortless to use and provides an easy way to find what you are looking for, understand where you've been, and determine where you might go. One method to achieve this is to create an index that can be viewed on each page much like you see to the left on this site. Note also the color of the word "Function." It is clearly set apart and lets you know where you are as does the subtitle above. Other companies have created actual site maps which can quickly reorient a lost visitor. However you decide to develop your navigation scheme, always make it possible for your visitor to know where they are at all times.
AVOID THE WWW (World Wide Wait)
Many studies have been done on user interactivity. One such study shows that most web surfers will click away if they have to wait for a page to download longer than 15 seconds. Remember, most of the time they come looking for information, not to see fancy pictures or cute animations. While those things add to the appeal of your site, if you are not careful they will send your visitor over to your competitor's site which is more user friendly. As an example, a local movie theater advertises their web site as "award winning." Being a web designer who likes to look at good web design, I decided to check it out. After a minute's wait, I decided to leave. My feeling? No site, no matter how visually stunning, is a good site if you have to wait that long. I have better things to do.
DON'T FORGET MAINTENANCE
You'd be surprised how many beautiful web sites have outdated information, buttons that lead nowhere, links that are outdated, or graphics that don't load. Fortunately, this is becoming more rare as businesses have come to realize that having a web site requires maintenance. Be sure to budget in time to keep your web site looking good and remaining current.
Ever onward…
