I built web pages for a few years, but I did not get into the usability, and design side until years later when working for an e-commerce business. What I have found is the page has to be attractive, and fast. No one will sit around waiting for you page to load. A quick check on Google Analytics will show you where your people are leaving, and giving you a reason why. The best source I have found for UI in an easy to read, and informative, reasoned content are the smashing magazine books, one and two. These books are pulled from authors over the course of the magazine's history. They are full color, and explain design and usability in an easy to understand and example based approach.