Even though every client has a different vision for its website, it is important to start out with a clear, well thought out site map and list of goals before you even think about look and feel.  Here's a list of five important goals to think about each time you start a site's design.

1. Create a user-friendly, attractive design. Never sacrifice a quality user interface in favor of a design. It is equally as important for a user to navigate your site with ease as it is for the design to be graphically pleasing.  Although it's great to be unique in your design, you still want the user to find important features of you site in logical, familiar places.  For example, the main navigation should still be most prominent on your site, not buried at the bottom.
2. Target the appropriate audience. Know your audience. Every design may not be appropriate for every audience. For example, a grunge look with distressed fonts may be trendy and great for some markets, but will probably be inappropriate for corporate clients.  Do your research and see what similar companies are doing so you have an idea of the "feeling" the site should give its users.
3. Create an easily navigated interface. It's key to start with a solid, well thought out sitemap. Streamline the navigation, determine what's important and throw away the rest.  Not everything about your clients company belongs on the website.  Less is more... and then people may actually read it.
4. Give the client what they want, and what they need. It's important to listen to your clients about their company, their industry and the products or services they are selling.  When it comes to functionality, educate your clients on items that are important for them to know and help them understand why they don't need certain features that may seem cool, like a five-minute flashy intro to their site, which most users will skip or be turned off by.
5. Increase functionality with additional code. There are many design techniques that can be achieved with additional code. A simple website can be made into a great site with the addition of javascript, jquery or php.  Stretch your design legs and try something new with each site!

Web design trends and techniques are changing daily, check back to see what the next hot web trend will be!

Neil Esposito, Associate Creative Director at Long Island advertising agency Austin & Williams, assists in guiding the Agency's artists from developing strategic concepts through project completion, with a personal expertise in Web design. To read more about Neil, visit his bio section on the A&W web site.