Clean. Uncluttered. Function first and foremost. Easy to navigate and read. Visually interesting images and graphics. Avoid standardized templates. Break some rules, but not at the expense of ease of use. Concise calls to action. Leave out the bells and whistles that don’t serve a purpose. Use animation sparingly and only where attention needs to be directed.

Every website must serve a purpose. Define those goals, and design a structure to achieve them.

Know the story you want to tell, and make the website follow the script logically from front to back.