Most new e-business owners realize they need a website that looks professional. But how elaborate do you need to be? How much energy, creativity and money should you invest so that visitors gasp, Wow what a beautiful website?

Experienced business owners know: Your goal is to create a website that sells, not a site that wins the electronic version of Miss Universe. Most of the time youll want to win sales contests not beauty contests.

Remember the commercial about the beer and the dog? A man sends his dog into the kitchen to get him a beer. We hear sounds of a refrigerator opening and a can opener humming...and then we hear lapping sounds. Oh no! The dog is drinking the beer!

Great commercial, right? Except ... can you remember the brand of beer?

And of course weve all seen that big pink battery-powered rabbit. But many viewers cant remember the sponsors brand.

(1) Emphasize your marketing message.

Recently I heard a speaking professional say, My speaking wardrobe is designed to avoid calling attention to me. When the audience is thinking, What a beautiful suit! or What a mess! theyre not listening to my message.

Your website works the same way. Stay focused on the content.

(2) Use graphics sparingly.

Graphics take awhile to load. And what sells your product? Not graphics copy.

Research shows visitors seek information. So use graphics to convey specific messages. A fitness site could show a before-and-after. And real estate sites can show examples of real houses.

(3) Use meaningful graphics.

One award-winning site featured a menu on an elaborately drawn 3-ring notebook. The words were hard to read and frankly Im not sure I remember what the site was all about. A 3-ring binder could be a calendar, a student notebook, or ...

But lets say you want to target a business audience. Youd show pinstripes and briefcases. Sure, your target market wears business casual and carries canvas. But theyll pick up the symbolism, especially if youre trying to differentiate yourself from a leisure or family market.

(4) Skip flash and frames (usually).

You probably know this already. Search engines dont like frames and your visitors will get impatient waiting for flash to load.

If youre a famous musician (like Coldplay) or author (like Lawrence Block) you can create an elaborate site and your fans will wait half an hour, if need be. Theyll expect something out of the ordinary.

And if youre a web designer, you probably need to showcase some of your tricks.

But most of the time, I believe websites are like basketball games. Web copy is out on the court, putting points on the board. Readers look for smooth moves and sharp uniforms but theyre mostly paying attention to the action.

Graphics remain on the side, cheering the team. But lets face it: most of us dont come to a game to watch the pep squad.

(5) Create a great headline for each page.

Research shows, over and over, that readers respond first to your headline. If theyre intrigued, theyll go on to read your copy.

Readers look first for headlines that communicate, I share your pain! Theyve got problems and theyre surfing for solutions. And they dont have much time.

Bottom line: Focus on creating and communicating a great marketing message. Frame your message so you come across as professional but keep your website focused on learning how you can provide solutions to their challenges.