Focus on your message, not just design

Evaluating how you use each square inch of available screen real estate is very important. That said, too often this leads to the conclusion that 'more is more' resulting in cluttered and very busy web sites. Instead I would suggest that the philosophy that 'less is more' wins every time. A good example is www.google.com which is mostly empty white space except for branding and a text box in the middle of the page. Their clear call to action 'search here' is responsible for Google's status as a household fixture. Of course, once they convinced you to use their search engine they also had to deliver results.

Relating this to your web presence means answering these questions:

1. What is your call to action?
2. What information do you need to present to site visitors to maximize conversions for your call to action?
3. How should this information be presented?

While design is important, content is king. Too many site owners start with how their site will look instead of what their site will say and do.