The three core principles of great web design
The essence of a website is self-service. There are three core things that self-service needs to get right: convenience, speed, and price. Convenience means task achievement with minimum effort. Speed means that you get in and out of a website as quickly as possible. People are cheap on the Web.
The three core principles of great web design: April 12, 2004: New Thinking by Gerry McGovern