The following is intended to explain the ratings system used in this index. First off, the content ratings are meant to be just that, ratings of content, separate from design quality. Design quality comes into consideration only if a website is on the borderline between two ratings. A good design will push the rating up, a bad design will push it down. This happens in only a few percent of the sites.
Some weight is given to the utility of the information present.
Good in this sense really means minimal. It means the site meets our minimal expectations of what a website should contain. This is heavily dependent upon the industry and apparent purpose of the website. What constitutes minimal information for a small business, may constitute an ad or business card for a large corporation. If anything critically obvious is missing, the site will be downgraded to advertisement.