So, design is critical and not to be neglected. If you get people to start coming directly to you, you save on search marketing costs for repeat business. If you increase your conversion rate, you increase revenue pure and simple for the same cost, a good thing.

What's the role of content in this equation? Think of content as the thing that leads people to your door. That's what search engines index. If people syndicate your site on their web page, your content is what their readers see and what motivates them to press the link back to your site. If people read your full-content RSS feed in their feedreaders, your content is again what motivates them to click on the link leading back to your site. Perhaps, they want to respond to you or quote you. Perhaps, they want to look at your site to see how credible it is or what other people are saying. The point is that content is just the hook, the visual impression created by your site design is what directs people's attention to things that matter to you and influences whether they will come back for more.

Based on conversations I've been having with web designers and web design analysts as well as my own observations of industry trends, I think we've come to a new era in design. In this new era, the art of design is combined with the science of design to make people return and convert. To achieve the full value proposition, design will need to deliver the full package of design product plus conversion analysis.