This seems very obvious but I’ve found too often that designers jump straight into Photoshop before giving any thought to the problem they are trying to solve. Design is about solving problems and those problems can’t be resolved through gradients or shadows but through a good layout and a clear hierarchy. Think about the content, the layout and the functionality before starting to drop shadows.

http://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/steps-perfect-website-layout-812625