Great web design consists of two key principles: Content delivery is the objective and it should be presented well.
Content is King
Most great websites (top 5%) have several to many high quality pages and/or UNIQUE tools. Most (95%) websites produce very little and have few web pages that produce anything. What makes a great page? Great, unique, original content surrounded by great presentation. What makes a great site? A focused set of great pages that are easy to find and have a focus. They cannot be pages that are duplicates from other sites.
Web Site Popularity
Just having great content won't put you at the top of search engines. You must understand SEO and site popularity. You either understand it or you pay someone who does.
Web Site Purpose
If you are going to spend one dime or one second on a website be sure you know why you are doing it. If it is because "every professional needs a site" then you are wasting precious resources. If it is because you want to serve your clients with great information or a great experience then you are on the right track.
If you simply want a web profile, otherwise known as an online brochure, then plan your site as such and don't deviate. Just don't expect much search engine traffic. Unless you drive the traffic yourself with great print material or ad space (or you pay someone to make your site popular) you won't see it.
Once you decide what your purpose is then begin planning but don't vary from your proposed target or you will have a site that does what everyone else's site does: provide very little value.
Create Great Value
Put yourself in your audience's shoes. What do they want to see? What do they want to read? What will drive them to take some action?
If you are simply doing a brochure site then you will only want 6 to 10 great pages covering key topics that you want highlighted. Don't hit every topic because your site becomes diluted. Unless you plan to pay a lot of money for ad space, SEO, or print materials don't plan for many hits because there are way too many sites out there for major search engines to care about yours - cold, but true. Engines only care about great content and site popularity. If you don't plan to write a lot of content, you have a small budget yet expect a lot of traffic, hold off on the web site. Focus on other business generating activities that will provide a MUCH higher ROI. The reality is that very few websites ever generate one transaction without the owner spending a ton of time and money.
Review your site and determine if your site is like everyone elses. If it is, you may not see any action from it, even if it really does look great.
Summary
The internet is about great information and/or great popularity. If you plan to do a site, understand its purpose and expect the appropriate results. You really can have a great site that generates quality leads. It will take a lot of work, time, and/or money depending on your internet skills. It will likely take the place of the time or money you would spend on some other considerable activity. If you do a site, shoot for the stars or don't shoot at all.
