Check out this brilliant web design article by Dmitry Fadeyev over at Smashing Magazine.

Here’s a quote that sums up the must-have philosophy for sound web design:

“Web design isn’t art. It involves a whole collection of different skills — from copywriting and typography to layout and art — all fused together to create an interface that not only features a pleasant aesthetic but that communicates function and facilitates easy access to its content.

“But in order to combine all these elements of Web design together and achieve successful results you must have a clear direction, a direction that will guide each and every aspect of your design towards common goals. You must think strategically.”

Amen, brother. Usability is key. So is marketing strategy.

How many business owners do you know of who’ve spent thousands of dollars to get a website designed, and all they ended up with is a fancy looking porfolio site that gets 3 visitors per month?

It’s crazy.

In addition to all the great tips in Fadeyev’s article, your online marketing master plan must come first, bar none.

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