Seven Virtues of Minimalist Web Design
Just like cologne, less is more when it comes to web design. We’ve all been trapped in an elevator with the guy who doused himself in cheap fragrance; an overloaded website is just as painful.
As tempting as it may be to add just one more image or experiment with another font, the overall effect of your website will be greatly enhanced if you restrain the impulse. Instead, opt for a minimalist web design.
Minimalist websites contain only the bare necessities of information, presented in an attractive manner. Any type of website–ranging from blogs to personal profiles to company webpages–can benefit from the virtues of minimalist web design. Listed below are seven reasons why this design approach can be right for you and your website.
1. Faster Load Time
Speed is the currency of the Internet. Without it, websites are doomed to lose traffic simply due to slow load times. A digital consulting firm recently reported that 40 percent of Internet users will abandon a page if it takes more than three seconds to load.
Part of the advantage of minimalist web design is that such websites are sleeker, simpler, and load much more quickly than their overloaded counterparts. Thus, you are more likely to keep and retain more visitors–which is good for your bottom line.
2. Quick and Simple Maintenance
Websites, like anything else in life, do require a bit of maintenance on occasion. Obviously, more elements included in a website mean more maintenance down the road. By the same token, fewer elements means less and easier maintenance.
The beauty of minimalistic websites is that they are a breeze to maintain. This is doubly good for the webmaster because it means less time doing maintenance and more time attracting traffic.
3. Easy Navigation
An especially useful outcome of minimalist web design is that of easy navigation. If the website is not cluttered with links and other add-ins, then it is much easier for new and returning users to find their way around your site.
The navigation bar should be in a predictable place and not contain any surprises or superfluous links. You want navigation to be as easy as possible so that people will stay longer and be inclined to return.
4. Content Remains the Central Focus
The real reason why people come to your website is not to marvel at your stunning web design. Though aesthetics should certainly not be overlooked, they aren’t the main draw to your site.
The reason why the website exists in the first place is, after all, to share content. A well-designed website should subtly compliment your content, not serve as a distraction or an irritant for users.
5. Classy and Professional
Web sites designed with minimalism in mind can be a great way to appear as the professional company or individual that you are.
Bad web design can have the opposite effect and serve as an immediate deterrent for subscribers or potential customers. Artists and bloggers tend to have simple, yet elegant, websites. An increasing number of businesses are taking the cue to de-clutter their web space.
6. More Relevant Search Results
As a result of de-cluttering the unnecessary elements of your website, you are more likely to generate relevant traffic.
This means that more people who are actually interested in your content will stop by–and thus be more likely to share that content with others. Minimalist web design can play a role in affecting your SEO and SEM results. Even if you do not know what SEM is (or SEO, for that matter), just know that having better rankings is great news for a site of any size as it increases visibility.
If you do know what SEO is and would like to incorporate it into your marketing efforts, let us know. Our Clearwater SEO specialists will help increase your visibility in search engine results pages.
7. Consistency across Displays
A simple, straight-forward design means your website will be quick to access and formatted consistently across all display types.
Whether people are arriving at your website from their mobile phone, tablet, or desktop computer, the user experience is greatly enhanced by consistency. Consistency makes the browsing experience easier for the user and increases brand recognition.
Whether you are just getting started with web design or are thinking about revamping your established site, consider trying the minimalist web design approach.
The design team at Subtle Network Design & Marketing can help make your minimalist dreams come true. Contact us today to discuss the best design strategy for your site.