Why the design lay out of your site is as important as its content

In web design, layout is "The way elements, content and graphics are organized on the page. Layout is the sizing, spacing, and placement of content/subject within a window or page. Effective layout is vital in helping users find what they are looking for quickly, as well as creating the look visually appealing.

Design is an illustration of your brand and marketing and the layout of a web page is typically what people think of when they think of web design.  So if the layout is poor or doesn't work well, then customers won't like the site.

The main objective of any layout is to clearly organize and locate information. The contents such as logo, the mission statement news, contact information, mission statement or tagline, a brief company description should be laid out in a sensible, well organized way that will be easy to read and understand.

The header is most important and almost as important is the tagline and everything else is equally important. 

Users don't have to think where desired content is to be found, the lay out tells them. If users are looking for important content, they know where to look in the main content area, usually placed in the area with the most space. If they are looking for something less important, like navigation, they will look for secondary areas which are smaller and placed in less prominent position.

In addition, by using four equal width columns you can simply search the headline of each to find out if the column contains the content you are seeking. If not, you continue scanning until you find the one that does.