Choosing a minimalistic approach for your company’s web design? Feature only the most essential elements by focusing on these three areas.
The world craves minimalism.
So much so, that whichever aspect of our lives you look at – whether it is the lifestyles we lead, homes we live in, or the products we consume – minimalism is present in every facet.
Even the smartphones in our pocket prove that minimalist design has more than caught on.
Why Minimalism?
Often confused with simplicity, the concept of minimalism entails reducing all elements to only include those that are essential.
In the world of design, minimalism is used to directly convey the message without the unnecessary noise and obstruction of focus due to other distracting elements.
Seeing the benefits of using minimalism to swiftly and effectively convey the message, the minimalist approach has taken root in many branches of design.
From painting and sculptures to digital product design and web design, minimalism has managed to root itself and understandably so.
Designed with minimalism in mind, digital products and web designs are no less impressive.
Apple’s brand is one of the best examples of having a minimalist approach in mind when designing products.
The design itself is clean and sleek, and it puts an accent on every aspect of customer experience – from the first moment you hold an iPhone packaging in your hand, peeling off the foil of your screen, to finally using the smartphone.
Minimalist designs are visually appealing and user-friendly, so it’s really not surprising that so many businesses prefer to have a minimalist web design, as it helps them boost their company’s bottom line.
Taking Minimalist Approach to Web Design
Your company’s website is the best business card you have.
It tells your customers all they need to know about your business – from where to find you to what the business is all about.
Websites that are not functional, take a long time to load, have too many distracting elements or are not user-friendly will make your potential customers bounce in a heartbeat.
In essence, a business’ website tells customers all they need to know about the company, but if your visitors don’t stick around long enough to know who you are or what you do, they won’t actually get to know you or understand what you have to offer.
In minimalist design, gestalt takes precedence over all else.
This means that the elements that are connected must remain close to one another, whereas elements that lack connection should be further apart.
Every element on your website that is crucial in guiding the user should be bigger, bolded, or feature strong colors.
From these simple principles, you draw all other rules of minimalist approach in web design, whether typography, negative space, visual elements or overcrowding are in question.
Instead of overcrowding your website with elements that are not necessary, feature only the most essential ones.
Minimalist Web Design & SEO
SEO-friendly websites receive more traffic.
This means that when designing a website, you need to keep both the users and search engines in mind.
Questions of how to create the best user experience should keep you up at night.
Google said that when designing a website, you should aim to serve your users’ needs… but users aren’t limited to consumers – you have to consider search engines, too.
We all know that competition is fierce, and we need to do our best to keep users on their track when they visit the website.
We all want our websites to load quickly, and minimalist design entails lesser features, which means that there will be lesser features to load.
However, even if you have a single image on your webpage, it is still important to optimize it.
Great and memorable user experience is the basis of a minimalist approach.
It does not only aim to be visually appealing, but to keep the most important for the user in order to gain valuable information without unnecessary chaos surrounding it.
So, rather than losing your customers over a badly designed website, try a minimalist approach and create an experience on your site that is simple, but not one that they will be quick to forget.
Minimalist Web Design in Action
When it comes to creating a plan for a minimalist web design, here are three focus areas you should consider leveraging.
1. Visual Elements
Every detail must be significant.
It should be functional and serve the purpose.
So when designing take each element into account, stop and ask yourself: Does this detail serve a function or is it just visual?A
If it is only visual, then you must step back and decide if it belongs on your webpage or it clutters it.
Graphic Elements
All graphic elements need to be usable.
Think of the purpose the added element serves.
- Does it have the role of shape divider?
- Does it lead the eye, meaning it will help the user navigate easily?
- Or, does it highlight the information that should be immediately noticeable to the user?
If it doesn’t serve a purpose, avoid using it.
Yes, illustrative detail might appear to be appealing to the eye.
However, every element must be added with a purpose in mind.
This applies to all types of visual elements, images, illustrations, and shapes.
