Project Management	Strategy & Analysis	User-Centric Design	Application Development	Quality Assurance

Understanding your audience and designing for their needs is crucial to the success of your Web site. Creating a useful and effective Web interface requires expertise in both aesthetic design and human-computer interaction (HCI). Aesthetic appeal validates your organization and keeps your audience engaged. But even the most visually appealing sites result in user frustration if they are not usable. You need to have both aesthetics and usability in place for users to have a positive impression of your organization and your brand.

But a great interface is only part of the equation. Your site must also have great content and functionality. Content should be current, relevant, brief, and communicative. Web audiences are also highly task oriented, so functionality is critical. Having a site that combines good aesthetics, usability, and utility doesn't guarantee success, but ignoring any of those three elements will almost certainly mean failure.

• Successful Web sites are centered on user needs
• A user-centric site must have the following elements:
  • Aesthetic appeal
  • A usable interface
  • Useful content and functionality