Fourmilab Switzerland http://www.fourmilab.ch/ "OK, so site looks like early days of Web, with bare-bones text and annoying frames, but what this site lacks in visual appeal it more than makes up for in compelling content."

FuriFuri Co. http://www.furifuri.com/ "This Tokyo design company has a delightfully cool splash page, followed by a nice use of vertical links in a script-like font. In color and design, site echoes its culture. Nice job."

And today's sighting, which is just a well-designed 404 Error Page! http://noahgrey.com/404.shtml Take a look at Noah Grey's homepage as well--his content and design is just as interesting as his error pages. http://noahgrey.com/oldindex.shtml

If you're looking for something in particular (say you want to find other e-commerce/business sites to get ideas for yours), Sightings is a quick way to get some help here-their thumbnail descriptions immediately clue you in to what to skip--and what to click.

4. Design with usability in mind and abide by basic design principles. Utilize white space, easily-read fonts, pleasing color schemes, universally understood symbols and backgrounds that don't distract from message.

3. Write in second person. (i.e. You will appreciate our new product because …). Keep sentences short and no more than 3-4 sentences per paragraph. Make use of hyperlinks and interactivity unless doing so would take visitors away from your sales area. Remember also that your visitors may be situated in other parts of world, and they may not understand jargon or North American slang. Lastly, research shows that Web surfers detest use of marketing hype. Subtlety counts.

2. Reward visitors from coming to your site. Offer free information, articles, contests, industry news or personalized services. Surfers are willing to provide online information if personalization is result.

1. And most importantly, always answer question, "What's In It For Me." In other words, talk "Benefits" not "Features." Sound familiar?