designing a new web site can be challenging for some people. a good site design requre good planning. this includes how to make the layout of the site how to divide te diretories, how are each page are linked from each other, the map of the site. all of these affect the search engne ranking and the people impressions.
I have some recommendations on worst practices to avoid, if that helps. http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1757739
Hi... I have recommendation for you, visit this site : webdesignfromscratch (dot) com/web-design/web-2.0-design-style-guide.php (not my website)
you can research for a good web design tutorials or website that can make your web design inspirations. The number one tips to design a good web site is to know the needs of the users and what they actually need for your website