The phrase “content is king” is splashed around so much these days. Content is the “meat and potatoes” of your website, and can be the reason why users return, as well as being one of the core aspects of successfully optimising your website for search engines.
What about the design then? Does having “good content” render the design of your website unimportant and “obsolete”?
My answer is “no”.
If content is king, then surely design is queen. I believe that if your website’s design is good enough, your content won’t be the only reason users return to your website. I’d say it’s a balance between the two. Get a solid design going (it doesn’t have to be incredible… just solid and well considered) and have decent content on your website. That way, users are visually attracted and will enjoy your content at the same time. I picture two types of reader scenarios in this context:
Reader A would arrive at the website and think: “Wow, this is a cool looking website, let me read the content”.
and Reader B would think: “Wow, the content on this website is cool… nice design as well”.
So there you have it. The best of both worlds. And beside every strong king is a strong queen, helping to rule the kingdom. 
