You can judge a book by its cover

However, both want similar things from the platform with which they are trading: a user-friendly site that offers good prices with minimal spread. While this may seem obvious, it is not clear that everyone has latched onto this. As Christopher Brandon of hedge fund Rhicon currency management said at our Singapore event last Tuesday, "No one wants to sit at a screen all day looking at something that's ugly."

Some platforms seem not to have taken this on board, placing importance on things like the number of liquidity sources and fancy gadgetry over appearance. Everyone wants tight prices and effective, fast software, but all this will be meaningless if your site looks like it was designed before the dotcom boom.

After all, with most of the prices recycled from the same sources, and with everyone offering wafer-thin margins, why go to a site whose colour scheme makes Henry Kissinger look fashionable?

Saxo Bank has turned itself from a small Danish forex specialist into a genuinely global institution, largely because it understands this. Having hundreds of programmers and IT support staff has enabled Saxo to deliver a site that gives decent pricing and good functionality. However, I would put a large part of its success down to good branding. It has a logo that is simple and quickly recognisable and an unfussy, easy-to-use website.

Those who want to hold onto the market-share they already have need to invest in design. Those who do not will be usurped by new entrants who understand that appearances matter more than many are prepared to accept.