A minimalist web design is essentially creating a website and finally reducing it to the critical elements that are most important to the company. Many of the industries that use the minimalist we design include:
Minimalism is not just exclusive to artistic industries; however – many businesses are using it because of the benefits it can bring to their business. So why doesn’t everyone do minimalist web design? It’s not the easiest thing to master – and simply mastering the art of “taking everything else away” until ALL the unnecessary is subtracted from the equation actually takes a lot of time and effort. This is possible; however. Here are 13 amazing facts revealing why you should consider minimalist web design.
Minimalist Web Designs Have Faster Download Speeds
Loading times directly affect your bottom line. Minimalist websites have less items on the website and so are automatically geared to load faster. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by E-Consultancy – 40% of participants will abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. A minimalist website has less, which obviously means that it is going to load faster and more consistently on all platforms including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and desktops.
Easy Maintenance
When there’s a website that attempts to “do too much” – this automatically means that there is going to be a great deal of website maintenance. This is not good for business. Minimalist web designs can last longer than the traditional, heavy duty, websites because they are slimmer by nature – there’s less upkeep.
People Do Not Like Pop-Ups
Many websites still use pop-ups. These aren’t the traditional (BUY MY PRODUCT) pop-ups. They are: submit information and you can access this crucial information. With that being said – this type of practice is still looked down upon just like it was in the 90’s. A minimalist web design gets rid of distracting pop-ups or anything that resembles it!
Helps the Focus on Content
People love content. We are constantly in a hurry to discover new revolutionary information that could potentially make ourselves better. Minimalist web design gets rid of all the distractions so that the user can focus purely on the content provided by your website. Furthermore, the content on your site should be clear and concise.
Convert Better
Most minimalist designs consist of a headline, a few words and a large picture that compliments the entire site. HighriseHQ.Com boosted their conversion percentage by 102.5% when they posted a picture of a happy customer! When they included the happy picture with “long-form” content – they saw conversions fall! Therefore, minimalism is key in this case study!
White Space Helps Your Website “Breathe”
Many designers tend to cut out the white space because they feel that it makes the website “feel” incomplete. However, to achieve more of a “Zen” feel to your website, it is a great idea to have more white space in order to help your website “breathe” – so that your users do not feel cluttered or uptight when they are visiting your website. User experience is key and if they feel trapped, they are going to run away; if they feel free – they are going to be more attracted to your website.
Easier Navigation
When you have a beautiful, simplistic design with a compelling call to action – your website visitors are going to naturally know where to go when they visit your site. Why is being a salesman such a useful skill in many professions? You help the person make a decision, and nothing does that better than a minimalist website – many times you give the user one decision – and if they say “Yes” their problem will be solved – who can say no to that?
Fewer Server Resources
Less is more with minimalist web design –this also means that your server will not be overloaded with too many videos, flash, or complex platforms that overload your server.
Efficient Unique Value Proposition Communication
Richard Branson’s claim to fame was his ability to use “clear & concise” headlines in all of his advertising. Everything that is advertised in the virgin brand is minimal, yet highly descriptive. Minimalist web design essentially takes the concept of concision and applies it to your unique value proposition.
For example, MailChimp’s unique value proposition is “Send Better E-mail”. It’s that simple – and by conveying that simple concept to the user – they are able to eliminate decision and tell the user instantly what their company does before the visitor has a chance to leave.
Your Company Looks Bigger
It’s a crazy psychological effect, but when you have a high quality minimalist web design – it ultimately makes your company look bigger. Why? When you do not have a lot of “stuff” cluttering your website, people are able to see the big picture – they subconsciously notice all of the surrounding whitespace on your website. The stuff that is on the website is given a greater emphasis. Everything you include LOOKS BIGGER. This makes your company look a lot LARGER.
Less Maintenance
These websites require less maintenance. Many websites have to constantly update their users with news, events, new blog posts, and are constantly tweaked for landing page conversions. When you have a minimalist web design – it is much easier to perform updates, design experiments, and more!
Easier Responsive Web Design
A great website is usually going to be grid based and use wireframes. This makes the process of responsive web design much simpler. This also heightens the chances that the user will receive the same experience on computer as they do their mobile phone. This leads us to the final point.
Usability
User experience is the visitor’s interpretation of how pleasing their experience is with your website. This is seen as the most important aspect of online marketing. Any large fortune 500 company has spent millions if not billions of dollars improving their user experience! If the user is pleased with their 1st impression of your website, they are going to instantly believe your service is great and will be willing to forgive any mishaps in the future.
