Just about all of the experts in this field will tell you that a good engineering and design effort is driven by the requirements of the customer in their ultimate use of the product, i.e., the functional requirements . Such a statement is obvious and makes a great deal of sense. Technology and understanding advance. Without the Internet and the technologies and developments that allow for the existence of the World Wide Web, this discussion would be moot. Thus, the way in which a system behaves changes as new capabilities become possible, existing ones become common, and thus more cost effective.
Function follows form.
In other words, people try to use tools or materials in ways that they know well. This metaphor holds true when it comes to web page publication. A few minutes on the web and just about anyone knows what a hyperlink looks like and immediately will seek them out to click on, even if they do not know the work hyperlink. Controls, such as buttons and selection lists, expected to be obvious and respond in consistent ways. Help is a last resort and only for functions that are fundamentally different from the normal web experience.