It's easy to get carried away in web design with the myriad of colors, special effects, and latest, greatest features. But if your intended audience won't see those effects, then your efforts are wasted. Or worse, a gee-whiz design could even prevent people from seeing anything on your site at all!

So despite the hype on video, audio, and animation effects, I recommend against using them unless it's essential to your message and you're sure your viewers will have the capability to see/hear them. Most of the special effects require that individuals download and install extra software. Netheads will do this; normal people mostly won't.

Eye-catching graphics are great, but you need to have good content to hold a viewer's attention after you catch it. Going back to the first principle, this generally means realizing what information your audience is after and giving it to them. A good design will enhance your content, not distract from it.

There's a lot of talk about how important it is to have high traffic volumes, repeat visitors, and frequently updated content. But those assertions make assumptions about your goals that may not be true.

Sites that run ads need to show that they have high traffic. On-line stores need repeat customers. Digital magazines need frequently updated content. But the majority of websites are more like yellow pages ads: when people need you, they look for you, and it's important that you be there and ready for them.

High traffic does not equal high response; one motivated viewer is worth dozens of channel-flippers. First-time viewers won't know or care how many times you've freshened the content before they got there. (Of course, your content does need to stay current, if that's relevant for your business.)

One last note: don't be distracted by the mavens of coolness. The designation of cool has more to do with pushing the envelope of technology than facilitating communication. It's important that someone expands the boundaries, but we can leave that to the tekkies and avante-garde artists.