I’m a big fan of simple or minimalist web design.
We’re talking websites with very little in terms of content and design.
The best example I can think of is this: Zen Habits.
I love that site for its advice and for its look. It’s all about really focusing on the things that matter in life (and in work).
From my experience it seems like people actually start out with the idea of keeping their website simple, but as the process goes on they get lost in all the elements.
The question becomes:
Should we create a minimalist web design?
Let’s think about it…
The Advantages of Minimalist Web Design
The benefits or advantages of minimalist web design are that it’s less confusing for people to take in. You can visit a site like Zen Habits and understand what you should do. It’s all about reading each article and having just a couple choices of where to go next.
Your brain doesn’t get overrun with options. You can focus on what really matters and as a result you can better comprehend what is on the page.
This has advantages for all types of websites from blogs to ecommerce and really any kind of site you would visit.
What can be bad about keeping things simple?
I can see when it would be important to have more than just one or two options on a site. Here is how I approach web design. It includes keeping one on minimalist web design while still focusing on what’s necessary for your business.
How to Approach Website Structure and Design
I like to start with the idea that your website is your online salesperson. It should do all the things you would do if you were talking to a prospect in person.
Think about how that conversation would go…
The prospect would come to you and they would ask for the details about your business. You would share the story and the services. They would ask you questions. You would answer those questions. A trust is formed as you share your expertise and connect with them.
Now, back to your website.
Your site and its pages need to act as your online salesperson.
People find websites a few different ways.
First, if you create content with something like a business blog people will find your site through search. They ask Google questions and find your blog posts. People also find this type of content via social media.
Second, people find your homepage for general keywords.
Third, people find your homepage because someone referred them. Social media can play a role here as well.
Fourth, if you advertise online you likely send people to various pages on your site.
Each of those entry pages is the starting point for the potential sale. It’s like meeting that prospect for the first time.
Let’s say someone finds a blog post of yours through a Google search. They read the post and like what you had to say. It was helpful. They become curious about your company so they click on the homepage. They read the overview of what your company does. They go to your about page to learn about you. They click on your services page and realize you might be able to help them. From there they contact you to either get more information or to make the purchase.
This process can take minutes or it can take days, weeks or months depending on your business model.
The idea is that each page on your site aims to answer questions and move prospects down the sales funnel to a conversion.
With the concept of minimalist design this is where you can win. Keep those elements to a minimum and focus only on getting your visitor to the next step in the sale. You don’t have to ask for a sale on the blog page. It’s more likely the visitor is simply curious about who you are.
Where people get in trouble is when they create a checklist for their website. They want to cover all bases on every page on the site.
They think of every possible thing a visitor might want to see (or things the business wants them to see) and throws it on every page. This is how you get all kinds of calls to action, links, images and text on every page.
If you’re going through your web design process and the page is starting to fill up, go back to the idea of an online sales person. Think about the one or two calls to action you want on each page that will move visitors down the path to a sale.
Remove the rest.
Conclusion
Minimalist web design can be very appealing. I’m a fan of it and so are a lot of Internet users. We like things that are simple, easy to look at and easy to understand.
I think we all strive for minimalist web design with our websites, but because we want to please everybody we get into trouble by adding too many elements to each page on our site.
Take the salesperson approach to your web design. You’ll get a site that is as minimal as it can get while still getting your visitors down the path to becoming customers.
