I'm a (wannabe) usability expert! I understand the importance of it, and am on a never-ending journey to understanding it completely and putting it to good use with ease.
I was very dissapointed to see the Web Design forum demoted to a Lobby.
All the other forums under the Web Development heading are to do with building or hosting web sites, with the exception of graphic design - which covers only a small part of design.
This is a classic case of misunderstanding the term
design.
See my topic
Real Design where I touch on the subject.
Design is:
1. to plan the route from problem to solution.
2. to conceive in the mind - invent.
3. a decorative or artistic work.
The fact is Web Development is no exception to the basic design principles.
The development life-scycle starts with a problem, which must be analysed, and the goals defined. Ideas are then generated and evaluated until one is chosen to be the best. The chosen solution is implimented (built and installed). Followup is also part of the development cycle - evaluating and testing and the problem may not be solved or new problems uncovered, so the cycle goes round again.
Carrying out the whole development process is
designing.
I will probably put these views into a web site, as they are a bit too specialised for this forum/site.
However I do suggest you provide the means for discussing all the stages of the Development Cycle.
A lot of self-proclaimed web designers don't know the first thing about design, but don't realise what they lack. One reason for this is very good sites such as this don't provide any clues whatsoever that there is more to web design than just graphics and coding.