Appealing sites push viewers not to push the back button

Appealing Website Design

After considering the design aspects that make a good website, I found The Aesthetics Department to be exceptionally well done.  

This site very clearly states its company's purpose and also has a pleasing logo and flag.

An important aspect is the dominant image of a featured project because it invites the viewer in to the site and gives a specific point to click first. 

The site has few links so not to be distracting, but enough information to make the site useful.  Every question I would have about the company is clearly answered with a link. 

Most importantly, the design made me want to continue browsing the website.  The simplicity shows the viewer where to click first, making it very manageable and useful.  If I were the owner of this company, I would be very happy with this design. 

Unappealing Website Design

In contrast to The Aesthetics Department website, I found the Bella de Soto site at  to be unpleasing.

The content is extremely cluttered and difficult to read.  It is unclear where the eyes are intended to go first. 

There is nothing that indicates the purpose of this website.  My guess is that it is called "Think!" because that is at the top, however it is surrounded and overlapped by other information, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the flag and everything else on the page.  

 It seems like some website creators try to cram everything they want people to see on the home page.  This is very chaotic and tends to make me leave the site quickly.  

The idea may be to expose as much material as possible incase a web surfer only clicks once.  This is ineffective, however, because the clutter only confuses the eyes causing me to see nothing.  

I would not be pleased if I were the owner of this website because the message is hidden in clutter.  If I were to redesign this site, I would have one dominant image and up to five pieces of important information on the home page with organized links to other information.  I would also state the purpose and title of the website prominently.  

Before taking New Media Fundamentals, I never considered why some sites intrigued me while others made me push the back button immediately.  It is clear now that the design pushes me to keep clicking.  A good design answers questions the surfer is looking for while also guiding the viewer to explore important links to that company.