While reading, watching and listening to this blog post, something not-so-profound dawned on me. I was struck with annoyance while attempting to “navigate” David Carson’s website. While he is a fantastic designer, I wish his website communicated that through ease of use—taking my focus from “How the hell do I get to what I want to see?” to “Wow.”

One of my biggest design pet peeves has to do with fashion verses function. Designers notoriously design their websites focusing on only one end of the equation: design. No user considerations. Hidden links tweak my mouse from cursor to pointer without understanding, disorganization halts intuitive navigation and all of this, in the name of design, forces me to click the little red X in less than 30 seconds because: you are no longer interesting to me.

* I must make one small disclaimer: There is a time and place for unusable websites; when the lack of usability coincides with the messaging of the site. *

Onward. There is a fine balance between usability and aesthetics. In print, the variables reside between paper and ink. In web, we are not so fortunate. Many more factors come into play and design takes on a distinct and crucial role. More than communicating a message, the design of a site must communicate direction, intention, and be a catalyst for information absorption. It is almost as if the designer has more opportunities to drive home the messaging through web, which is probably why I am so very in love with web. When all of these facets collide with savvy technology, unique design solutions and logical organization, great websites are born.

So while design does not always equal web design, web design always equals design. Moreover, web design, presents more occassions where design can be utilized.

Check out their website. A company without a website is a company losing clients (and losing clients equals losing money). Everyone knows print design can be very effective, whether it’s handing out business cards or mailing newsletters. But what is the one of the largest forms of communication today? Writing a letter and giving it to the postman? No—in today’s world it’s email. People are online 24/7 and having a website gives users, your potential clients, an all hours marketing tool. For any business, all businesses, having an online presence is invaluable.

Marketing seems to be the department that is built last. It isn’t until businesses hit the mega bucks that they really begin investing in marketing—the next thing you know they’re in Forbes magazine. So how can you afford to invest? Remember those financial planners telling you to start investing when you were 15? “All you have to do is put in $20 a month!” they’d say. Then, when you hit 55, and you’d have compound interest alongside of the yacht you just purchased.

So maybe the constant change of design and technology doesn’t quite guarantee compound interest and a yacht. But let’s think about this: when you are just starting out, what is the most difficult thing? I’d say most of your work goes into generating business. Web design is one of those tools that, if done well, will give you that exponential start to your business. Over time, the marketing power of a well-built website will pay for itself. So, what is a 24 hour marketing tool worth to you? If you want my two cents, it’s priceless.