What makes a good website design? If you ask this question you may get hundreds of conflicting responses. Check out website awards — who is winning and why? It seems to me that it is usually some cool flash site that wins the awards, not craigslist. I would argue that craigslist is one of the best sites around. Why? It is highly effective in doing what it was designed to do and it is highly utilized. It is also pretty ugly from the viewpoint of aesthetics and certainly it is not “cool” and trendy from a technology perspective. It looks much the same today as when it launched.

Different Designs for different purposes

So what is my point? In order to design a great website, it needs to fit its purpose and accomplish it. What that looks like could be a cool flash site or it could just as easily be a plain jane html site. From my perspective, I prefer to use sites that look appealing and are easy to read. But I use craig’s list plenty when I want to find a new home for my used stuff or I have an apartment to rent.

What is your objective in having a website? Are you looking for repeat traffic; to sell something; to create an impression about your business; to publish lots of articles? The reason for the site dictates the design. The awards should go to the sites that most effectively meet their objectives.