I’m sure some of you reading this want to shoot me at this point. But the general idea behind design is how amazing something looks. It’s always been about Sexy, Forward Thinking, Out of the Box, and Awards. But when it comes to the web and building a business model, having that kind of design will impress but not bring results.

I think Steve Jobs said it best, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works”.  In the world of conversion, design is used to properly manage user expectations. We guide the prospect through what we want them to accomplish. If we distract them on the way, we risk loosing them.

I’m not saying that websites should be ugly pieces of HTML. What I’m saying is there needs to be form with function. You need to ask you self what the goal is of this particular page, and what a user coming to the page might expect from it. You need to make sure that the distractions are limited and the message is clear on the direction. If nothing else read a book title “Don’t Make Me Think”. It’ll open your eyes to the possibilities.