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An effectual website looks good, feels right, moves smoothly, and satisfies. Below is a summary of some of the more important aspects of web design.

Appearance What does the visitor see?
Content What information can the visitor get from your site?
Download Times How quickly is your site displayed to the visitor?
Navigation How easily can your visitor get around your site?
Search Engines How easily can a visitor find your site?
User Satisfaction How satisfied is the visitor once he gets to your site?

See an Example of an Effectual Fix

Appearance

Keep complicated graphics to a minimum. Remember that the purpose of your site is to give out information and you want your site visitors to get that information quickly. (See Download Times)
Use clean and simple layouts. Your site visitor wants to be able to see and understand the content. The more intricate your layout, the more likely it will be that your visitor will miss key information or navigational links and will leave your site.
Use Websafe colors.  To ensure a consistent display of colors across all browsers and platforms, it is best to use the 216 colors from the websafe palette.
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Content

Be concise and direct. Explain what you do right up front. Don't bury important information 3 mouse clicks into the site and take the chance your site visitors won't get that far. Be clear and concise enough that people can determine whether this is the service or product they may be looking for. Also, present site options on the first page of the site. There are various reasons someone is at your site, and those that have a specific purpose want to get directly to the information, whether it be a contact point, a job opening, an answer to a technical question, or product information. Be mindful of all the angles a web user could take.

Give some indications that the site is fresh, whether it is through press releases, explanations of new initiatives, sale promotions, event schedules, etc. With so much information available on the Internet, people have wised to the fact that not all of it is valid. It is important to send the message immediately that your information is credible, up-to-date, and valid.

Create value through content and interactivity. Make the web user comfortable that you can help them solve their problems. Once you understand the reasons someone visits your site, answer their questions, provide a solution for them, and you will win them over. They will leave with a good impression and are more likely to return for more.

Provide useful content. People like to see specifics they can act on. Do you want them as a customer? Then provide the answers to their questions. Website content is so important, yet during the design phase, it is often an afterthought to graphics. So much time (and budget) is often spent on graphics, that once the colors and pictures are chosen, and the corporate brochure is plopped on the page, the website is released to the world. Those sites may have a pretty face, but the personality and substance are lacking. You have so little time to get your message across; don't waste it on marketing jargon and slow-loading graphics. Potential customers do not visit sites to see ads; they come for information.

Web writing should be personal. Web users want to know what's in it for them.

Web writing should be conversational. People don't want to read pages of marketing jargon and vague descriptions. They are here for details.

Use headlines and subheads. This aids when scanning for the details they need.

Web content has to be visually appealing - or else the visitor gets distracted and unfocused (and heads off to another site). You won't get lost in our sites. Our goal is to help you retain visitors and to provide them a reason to visit and a reason to return.
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Download Times

Graphics are wonderful if they add to to the content or enhance the user experience, but they are a turnoff if the user feels they have been waiting around for nothing. With a 28.8K modem, a computer can receive 2K per second. As a general rule, all graphics should be kept under 20K with essential navigational graphics under 10K. Web users don't like to wait, and they get especially irritated when they find they have waiting for something they didn't need.
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Getting Around

Every page on your site should contain navigation controls. Not everyone starts from the beginning. People use search engines, bookmarks, links from friends, or links from other sites to reach your site. They may be entering from a side door. There should be a way to get around the site when they do.
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Search Engines

Every company wants their site to be found. Although there is no guarantee your site will listed first in all the search engines, there are specific design techniques that can ensure the best possible positioning.
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User Satisfaction

A web user will be satisfied if they get the answers they are looking for. And in the service industry, everyone wants satisfied customers. A web user that becomes confused, frustrated, annoyed, or disappointed while on your site is less likely to return to do business with you.
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Effectual Fix

Your web site may be the visitor’s first impression of your organization. Is YOUR web site giving an accurate impression of your organization’s capabilities?

Look at this example - see what we are talking about