The Most Important Web Rule

I knew right away what rule I thought was most important--

No matter what your website is about, you have to design it so that it's user-friendly.

I don't mean that every website should be simple and elementary, but if I were to sit my nearly-computer-illiterate mother down at the computer, she would have a notion of how to navigate the site, regardless of whether she could comprehend the information.

I think that being careful not to overdo too many details really is important. It shouldn't look like something exploded on the screen when you open a page, but it also should feel inviting and professional.

I feel like the opening sections of the Lynch and Horton really explain this rule well:

At minimum, a good site specification should define the content scope, budget, schedule, and technical aspects of the Web site. The best site specifications are very short and to the point, and are often just outlines or bullet lists of the major design or technical features planned. The finished site specification should contain the goals statement from the planning phase, as well as the structural details of the site.

Also, the Lynch and Horton lists some questions that the web designer should ask themselves. I used these questions when I was creating my website, and I found that they really do help:

What is the mission of your organization?
How will creating a Web site support your mission?
What are your two or three most important goals for the site?
Who is the primary audience for the Web site?
What do you want the audience to think or do after having visited your site?
What Web-related strategies will you use to achieve those goals?
How will you measure the success of your site?
How will you adequately maintain the finished site?

By asking myself these questions, I was able to really get to the heart of the matter and not worry about how "pretty" my site was going to look. The primary audience is key--writing for your audience is something that we often talk about in written documents, and the same should go for online sites as well.