Minimalism has taken the web design world by storm, as many web developers default towards minimalist web design. In this article, we will discuss what minimalist web design is, and how you can apply this kind of classic-but-modern style in your website.
Web Design is Extremely Crucial
Developing and designing a website can be pretty much difficult especially if you are doing it from scratch. With the idea in mind that companies offering similar products also have similar content makes it more difficult for web designers to think of ways to make a website stand out from the rest.
While some web developers are big on website animation, others are more inclined towards the right use of colors and icons. After all, web designers have their own tastes.
However, we guess we can all agree that choosing a minimalist web design is a great option when you want to go for simplicity. Minimalism puts information front and center for your target market to receive and appreciate. Minimalist design also saves site visitors from the hassle of poor site navigation, because the simplicity of the site’s design will definitely be easier for them to browse.
Tips to Follow Minimalist Web Design
A good minimalist design follows the idea that less is more. Check out the following tips and tricks to make sure that your website follows a minimalist web design:
1. Maintain whitespace on the page
To best explain whitespace, let’s look at Google and Facebook. Google’s stark clean landing page shows the company logo and the search bar. There’s no doubt that the purpose of the site is online search.
On the other hand, the interface of Facebook is convoluted, feature-packed, and all over the place. If you’re a first-time user, you’ll probably get lost in the jungle that is the Facebook timeline. The lack of whitespace in Facebook creates confusion as to the main focal point of the site (although, yes, we can understand that it’s easy to navigate for long-time users like us).
Blank spaces are usually considered as inactive spots that call for other elements to fill them in. In web design, however, whitespace is strategically used as active elements that will help the other details on the site to be emphasized.
People are generally visual beings. As a result, the more information we see, the more we get confused and distracted. This is where minimalism takes the upper hand—it promotes simplicity but never compromises the level of information that the target market needs to know.
A convoluted space may exhaust the readers, and whitespace provides some breathing and resting ground to resolve that.
2. Get all your website elements harmonized
Web design takes a lot of consideration—what to put where, what animations to use to emphasize what, and what catchy words may be used to simplify the information. Considering all of these things, you need to use a web design or theme that makes your job easier.
Fortunately, you can browse for minimalist themes online, which you can either download for free or purchase. Shifting to minimalist web design requires a lot of planning, and choosing the theme for your website is one of the most challenging parts of the process. After all, your choice of web design could make or break the total package of your website.
Selecting a minimalist theme that looks creative, unique, elegant and responsive. Most importantly, it should best represent your company in the simplest yet most remarkable way possible.
3. Get your interface simplified
The secret to effective website design is providing an interactive and user-friendly interface to ease the navigation in your page. Just imagine how difficult it would be for your site visitors to understand the interface of your website if it is too cluttered. If that’s the case, it is likely that your website will discourage your prospective clients, leading them to look for other company websites with a better interface.
Always put in mind that your website talks for you, and it should also be able to simplify the transaction between you and your target market. If your website cannot achieve this, this is the time that you need to look into your website’s interface, and make the necessary changes to make it work.
4. Pay attention to your typography
Just like colors, the choice of fonts is also a major factor in web design. Your fonts spark certain emotions and feelings, and you should be able to achieve your goal of encouraging your prospect clients to trust your company through your website.
Words are powerful weapons, and of course, your choice of font is crucial in this area. Can you imagine using playful fonts when your company’s product line is consultancy services for legal affairs? We think not!
The point here is, you have to know what font or typeface best suits the kind of services or products your company offers. Try using them with the words you want to use, and assess the appeal. Be straightforward with your words, but be more straightforward with how you want your words to be seen and read.
Minimalist typography should be bold and neutral in design. It is highly recommended that before you select the possible fonts to use, do your research on the meaning and psychology of fonts.
5. Make use of contrasts
Web design calls for meaningful symbolisms, and using contrast is one way of representing something you want to convey. Contrast is a form of visual hierarchy wherein your design elements will form a recognizable interplay. The power of contrast can also be applied in shapes, colors, and even the location of your website elements.
White as a background color is commonly used in minimalist design, as it is very effective in reflecting contrasts. By using a basic white color, you no longer have to put so much effort in trying out colors as they all go well with a white background.
The only thing you need to think about is the right tone and hue that will make your color easier to appear. A white background also brings your site visitors to immediately read the contents of your site.
6. Apply harmony and balance
Visually appealing minimalist web designs carry a sense of harmony and balance. Without these two, your minimalist design will fail.
Visual organization is key, and you have to focus in including a strong grid in your choice of design. Balance and alignment will follow once you have defined how you want your website to look like.
There are a lot of rules and guidelines to follow in terms of web design, and web developers should take the extra effort to research on them so that they can apply the rules before everything. Harmony and balance should also make your website look simple but very elegant especially on how the elements are placed to contrast one another.
Final Word
Always remember that simplicity never gets old, and going minimalist is a good start. We hope this list of tips will help you get the most out of minimalist web design.
