Many of my customers have no idea what they want their website to look like. If they have a paper broshure, or logo or letterhead, that is a good place to start when creating the 'look' of a web site. My forte is not graphics design, and so I sometimes will recommend a graphics pro who can create the look a client desires.
It is important to remember that the value of a website is in getting your visitors to do what it is you wish they would do. If you are selling something, making it easy to understand what you are selling, how much it costs, and how to purchase it is very important. If your site is information in nature -- say a community group -- you need to make sure that the information you are providing is easy to find, and easy to read. If you want visitor feedback you need to make it easy for visitors to talk back to your website.
It ends up that there are several very basic 'components' that every website will employ:
A menu is a list of selections. Usually a menu selection will bring the visitor to a new page. However, they can also be used to move the user to another section of the present page. Menus are the mainstay of current web design. They provide the 'doors' to the various functional areas of the web site. Usually a menu of the main areas of the website is part of each web page.
If you want your visitors to be able to contact you, you will want to provide your telephone number, mailing address, and a Contact form. The form asks for the visitor's name, email address, etc. and provides an are where he can type in his question or comment. There is a 'button' on the form that, when pressed will send this information as email to the site owner, and send a copy to the sender as well. While some sites use an email link, rather than providing a form, there are several reasons why the Contact form is a better method: First, putting your email address on your website will invariable cause you to receive SPAM. SPAMMERs use programs to automatically cull through websites looking for email address that they can add to their lists. The Contact form sends you email without having to reveal your email address on your website. Second, the form keeps your visitor at your site. He need not have an email program running on his computer. So, you save your customer from a potential problem
If you are selling something, you need your visitor to be able to read about your offerings, select the products or services they wish to purchase, and pay for them. This is the job of the order form and associated web pages.
This is the area of the page that contains the article or information you want to publish. Generally, you want to develop a certain look that is easy to read and pleasant to look at.
This can include small images associated with your content text, or "Pull Quotes", the small boxes that contain a quote from the main article text.