Do you subscribe to idea that a picture is worth a thousand words--and therefore images, not a lot of text, should be main thrust of your home page? Or do words have more power to capture a visitor's attention and compel them to buy--meaning you should aim for powerful copy?

As a graphic designer, my natural inclination is to create graphically-rich, light text websites. Since I'm focused on what a site looks like visually, I like using impressive images, bold splashes of color all over page, and not very much copy. The end result is an attractive, visually-appealing site, with very few words.

However, I've learned that I have to balance this inclination with a cold hard reality: what appeals to me as a designer is not necessarily same as what visitors need.

The main problem with websites that don't have any copy is that they fail to quickly and effectively communicate three points that all commercial websites must get across: You must explain what your company does, what benefits are of using your product or service, and why prospective customers should purchase from you.

These important pieces of information can only be conveyed vaguely, if at all, through images. While pictures are often very useful in reinforcing a message, it's difficult to succinctly drive home these important points solely through images.

If you put form before function, you sacrifice your visitor's best interest for your own preferences. By definition, putting form over function means you sacrifice function--you make it harder to perform whatever task is supposed to be performed. You give up ease of use or simplicity in order to make it look nicer. Basically, you wind up with a lot of icing and no cake.

Don't get me wrong--form often accentuates function, just like icing accentuates a cake. Something that is visually pleasing often increases usability by making it more attractive or by using visual elements to increase understanding. Creative design can often be used to make a task easier to perform. It can entice visitor to take whatever action you want them to take.

However, on web, there are frequently contests between form and function. Designers make choices between whether to make something look nicer or make it simpler and easier to use. For example, these are common ways of sacrificing function:

- Using an uncommon style of links that makes it hard to recognize links.

- Putting a textured background behind copy, even though it will make text harder to read.

- Choosing a font color that doesn't have enough contrast with background color.

- Using a font face that is difficult to read.