And, of course, pretty and functional would be best, but it can be hard to attain.

Just read an interesting article on why news site (and prime example of link journalism) the Drudge Report and why it “is one of the best designed sites on the web”. It’s certainly not the prettiest, but it is functional (and successful) to such a degree that the writer contends that its basic design is a good example of what to do online. And there’s some decent discussion going on in the 217 (and counting) comments.