There are a huge number of online resources about the most effective way to design a website.

Research by Jacob Neilsen and Steve Krug into usability has undoubtedly influenced many of today’s web designers. A recent post by Smashing Magazine entitled “10 Principles Of Effective Web Design” suggests that the “usability and the utility, not the visual design, determine the success or failure of a website”.

Usability principles are important but our experience would suggest that a website’s credibility is arguably more influential. The Web Credibility Project at Stanford University has published some useful information about how to boost a website’s credibility, all of which we would agree with.

Our experience though suggests that there is one thing above all others that is all important in ensuring a websites success…