A good website is defined by its purpose and the needs of you and your customers. But aside from those things, there are some basics you should be aware of.
The first thing a visitor to your site sees is your homepage. It needs to leave a good first impression while being helpful at the same time. Take Google.com for example. The homepage is extremely simple. It instantly tells visitors that the service is easy to use and focuses on doing one thing well: search. An example of a homepage that does not do anything helpful is one of those flash intros. You've seen them, and if you are like most people, it annoyed you after the first time.
A site is useless if a visitor can't find the information they are looking for. Most visitors will spend less than 30 seconds on a website if they don't find the information they need. They simply go somewhere else. Navigation should be so simple, that the visitor can get where they want to go within 2 or 3 clicks.
Without content, the website has no purpose and visitors do not return. (Remember hamsterdance.com?) Your website needs content and even better, interactivity. Examples include: message boards, chat, product catalogs, photo galleries, and your company's latest news. Web 2.0 is a term that is thrown around a lot. It refers to websites with a new way of thinking, where information is paramount, and easily manipulated.
Every website is different and good usability ensures that a web surfer is viewing your site with the highest efficiency. It allows a surfer to quickly understand how to get from one place to another without making any mistakes. Usability puts the visitor in control. Without good usability, a visitor will quickly get annoyed or confused, and promptly leave your website.
Computer monitors come in many sizes and resolutions. People also have varying qualities of vision. A good website takes all of these variables into account and provides not only the best font size for the audience, but the best font color and style. A good visual hierarchy helps as well. Visual hierarchy is the importance put on certain types of information in contrast with other information. For example, Headlines are larger than normal copy, and item lists are separated from other content using bullets.
Design is a broad term. I'm simply referring to the overall look and style of a website. You want a site that resembles your company. If you have a high-tech company you want vivid colors, modern fonts and a creative overall look. If you run an antique furniture store you would be better off with rich colors, old-fashioned fonts, and a more traditional design.
Whether it's the content or the creative design, something has to give visitors a lasting impression. Something they can use to base their view of your company on or to keep them coming back to your website. For example, Google.com is a site I visit many times a day because it performs a service nobody else can do as well.
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