Two things make a good website: content and functionality. Looks are nice to have but come last.
Focus on these two areas to create a website that people will want to visit, return to, and tell their friends about. If the site offers the type of content that people need and makes that content easy to find and interact with, people will overlook even the ugliest designs. Case in point: Hackernews.com — a site with 5M monthly users (source) that looks like this:
This article covers the essentials of building a successful website, focusing on creating valuable content and ensuring strong functionality (checklist included). You’ll also learn how to avoid common pitfalls and see which tools can help you get started.