But, is it enough? Just because Toronto has the right communities, does that automatically mean that web site design is any better or more advanced here? To answer the question, we must explore the definition of good web site design. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and one person's definition of good web design might be diametrically opposed to another's ? especially in a place like Toronto, where there is no shortage of opinions on art, design and technology.



However, there are some generally acceptable benchmarks that most would agree a web site design must meet to be considered ?good?. The first thing any web site design must accomplish is its purpose, or goal. Like it or not, a web site is a functional thing. If it had no function, it would be just a web page and its design could be judged purely on aesthetics. But web site design goes beyond how good a site looks to include how well it accomplishes its goals. If a web site needs to sell, a good web site design would focus web visitors on making a purchase. If the purpose of a web site is to get market information, the design must work to encourage visitors to submit information. Even if a web site exists only to provide information, like a Toronto tourism site, its design must convey that information in the best way, so more visitors get more of the information.

Web sites whose purpose is to get visitors to take an action, like make a purchase, submit information or send an email, need to have a multi-functional design. Not only do those sites need to convey information, they must gather it also. When a web site successfully achieves its purpose ? getting a visitor to take a call to action ? it is called a conversion. Conversion rates are one of the benchmarks used to judge the success of a web site, and, in turn, how well it is designed. Good web site design encourages higher conversion rates. Indeed, the entire structure of a web site should be focused on converting visitors. In other words, good web site design needs to start and end around conversions. Regardless of how good a site looks, if it does not convert visitors at the highest rate, it cannot ever be considered the best design for that site.

Does that mean that what might be considered by most as an ?ugly? looking site might actually be a better web site design because it manages better conversion rates than a nicer looking site? In a word, yes. In addition to the arts, design and technology, Toronto is a real estate hotbed and homeowners can find renovators and repair companies that specialize in all kinds of home services. If you searched the web for a ?plumber in Toronto? and one of the sites you chose featured an incredibly beautiful and artistic design with clever animations, etc., the look of the site might be in conflict with its purpose. A visitor to such a site might like the looks of the site, but those same looks can put the visitor off the purpose of finding a solution to their plumbing problem. A more practical, perhaps ?uglier?, web site design will better accomplish the purpose of the site and, therefore, be a better design.

That does not mean that ?ugly? graphic designs are okay. Regardless of the purpose of a web site, its graphic design should be as aesthetically pleasing as possible - as long as it doesn't lose sight of the site's purpose.

In the end, your web site doesn't need to be the best looking, and it shouldn't be ?uglier? than it has to be, it just needs to do what it is supposed to do. The problem faced by web site designers, in Toronto or anywhere else, isn't so much how a site looks, it is determining a site's goals and how the web site design can best achieve them.

WSI is a Toronto web site design company that specializes in developing sites that achieve and exceed their goals.