Here is a very nice piece about how simple, non-fancy website designs can provide better usability and user identification than a stylized design, depending on the role of the website. It forms a distinction between content and tool aspects of a website. While it makes sense to make content look attractive, the main goal for tools is to make them functional and non-destractive. A well-designed tool should be like a part of your body, something that you use naturally without attention shifting to the tool itself.