Form can outweigh function in some situations; art critics see fit to value Picassos above food, cars, and even houses, for example. But generally speaking, function is quite important, and at BlogWorld, Andy Hayes spoke to WebProNews about how website owners should put function before form.

Hayes, a travel writer/copywriter who’s made his online home at AndyHayes.com, explained to Abby Johnson, “When someone has an ugly website, it usually means that they’re focused on the things that are important to their customer or their reader and they don’t worry about how it looks.”

That’s a good thing. Not that it’s downright bad to aim for a unique and attractive look. Hayes simply argued, “Sometimes it just gets so shiny and glossy that we lose the fact of what we’re trying to deliver.”

Crazy fonts, dancing figures, and other creative visuals don’t often help provide answers or solve problems, after all. So when it comes to site design, Hayes recommended, “Don’t worry so much about what it looks like . . . does it deliver?”

He later added, “Get out of your own way and let people do what they’re coming to your site to do.”

Keep this advice in mind the next time your site appears a little plain or someone suggests an overhaul.