When designing, I try to keep certain rules in my mind, realizing that I'm trying to convey a certain message from the client to the audience. The main rule is: Keep it simple. Things that are over-designed may "wow" the audience, but the message is often lost. In web sites this is amplified by the complexity of the user's interaction and the idea of return visitors. By no way am I saying that a web site should be plain, black text on a white page. Designing should be done in a way that shows you know how to use the latest techniques to improve your web site, not hinder it. Subtle always goes a long way; it shows you've taken the time to use a design element but you haven't forced it on a user. In other words, show that you know how to make the bells and whistles, but let the user be the one who starts them.

Forced interaction is something to be avoided. Forcing a user to do something or watch something can turn a user away from a site. A rule I try to follow is "Would this annoy me if I visited this site more than twice?" In the world of web sites, return visitors are important so you need to make not only a good first impression, but also a good second impression, and third.

Making a hierarchy to your information is important and this should be thought about in the design phase. Breaking this hierarchy can hurt all the hard work that was done to create it and causes users to get stuck in one place of the site without the opportunity to explore. Lots of times there are multiples message you're trying to get across to the user. If the hierarchy is broken, this may not happen.

The last rule is "Make the client happy." This sometimes can be a difficult task but much of the struggle can be taken out of your work by knowing what to ask before the designing is started. Questions such as "What's the main goal of this site?" and "Who's the core audience that you're trying to reach?" are always a good starting point. Another thing I always ask a client for is examples other web sites that they like. This doesn't mean you have to copy that web site pixel to pixel but it does help establish what the client's tastes are.