Good website design is based on a number of factors, many of which have to do with taking into account the human factor since you are, obviously, building a site to be viewed by humans.  And most humans:

• Don’t want to wait for a page to load

• React differently to different color schemes

• Scan a website instead of read it in detail

• Need to feel trust before doing business with someone they don’t already know

Scores of studies have been done on the design details that matter to human beings.  This infographic from Red Website Design aggregates some of that data and boils it down to five key areas of focus for implementing good website design that leads to good user experiences: