Which is more important to a successful website: content or design?

In any website, neither content nor design is key. Architecture is key. Information architecture, or how the site is laid out, is the most important thing to a website. You may have incredible content with all the information in the world on it, but if people can't find what they are looking for because of bad architecture, they will leave. In the same way, you can have incredible design (as in, how it looks only) but if it is difficult to understand or navigate, people will leave. Richard Saul Wurman first coined the term Information Architecture in 1976 because of the huge amount of information that was becoming available. Your design can be the most terrible design in the world, but if it is constructed in such a way that people can find the information they are looking for easily, your site will do well. Which is why some websites, despite their poor design, say Craig's List, can survive despite their lack of design. That being said, if your content isn't good...why go to the website?

How is this even a question? People go to site because of the content. They don't go for the design.

Both are equally important for a website. A design which can load effortlessly and is user friendly helps in improving website’s rank on Google search engine. A well written, engaging and original content always has a competitive edge. Both good Content and good design make a successful website. It’s always recommended to consult a digital marketing agency for website development. Check out the following link for some help on content marketing   http://www.spicydigitalmarketing.com/services/content-marketing.php

Content. If only because in a social media fueled shared based world a fairly high percentage of people will be introduced to your brand before they even visit your site. The only exception I can think of off the top of my head would be if your site sold design. Then you'd want people tweeting, "Look at this..." Else content is still King.

Content. I've had the experience of designing a mockup for a client who didn't provide me with content proper and another who did before the actual mockup. Content helps a designer come up with the best possible layout for the client's website. It also helps when the most important contents were specified and website objectives were given to know which content must be given priority upon designing. Otherwise, when working only with lorem ipsum, design and layout can look very "template-y". Yes template'y works but it may not answer the website's objectives.

Judging by the bottom line--i.e. what people are paid to produce each component of a site--I would say website design, programming and SEO are far, far, far, far, far, far, far more important to a site's success. More design, marketing and programming professionals can afford to finance housing, groceries and other major household bills from their work efforts, and reports suggest that a large percentage of people who click on sites click off quickly when navigation is difficult. This explains the massive pay gap between those who are paid to produce content verses designers and programners who make sites work and / or who make sites visually attractive and marketers who increase sales. But in my area of the country, most arty design and marketing work fetches lower wages than in other parts of the country. It's a good second income in most cases. I've seen quite a few graphic designers in this area of the country, working for big name, large corporations with household names, but making only $12 per hour. The same is true of marketers with SEO skill, with many college educated marketers around here making  $10-per-hour. Many of them have a second income, like a spousal, second income to help with bills. Many young ones live with parents or with roommates. But since there are more hourly or salaried design and marketing jobs than content provider jobs, which are often freelance, piece-work-style and lower paying, pay and other job factors indicate the market regards design and SEO as more essential for a site's success than content. That may not be how search engines see it--I don't know--but that's how employers see it. And that's the bottom line. Disclaimer: I am aware that a few content providers are highly paid, but that does not contradict the general trend. A few insurance salesmen are highly paid, too, with the minions making $10 to $12 per hour with no benefits.

Look at , for instance. Simple design, which exists purely to support what human beings are actually interested in. Good website design doesn't attract attention to itself. It gets out of the way of the content.

Ideally it would be content, but talking from my experience it's actually design. Although I don't disagree with any of the opinions expressed here, visitors have mentioned they would much rather see something eye-pleasing in order to explore the website further.

Content plays about 80% role in getting your readers hooked to your site. Design plays the remaining 20% role. As most people have pointed out, content is king. A better design will perhaps help getting that extra pageview.