3 Helpful Elements of Minimalism in Websites and Why it Works

When 75% of users judge a brand’s credibility based on their website’s design and 94% of negative feedback on websites is related to design, nailing website design is key in the modern world. Minimalism in websites is an excellent way to do this.

Minimalism is a design style that has little or few elements in a design. It has the added benefits of things clashing or going wrong when there are fewer parts total. Helpfully, this makes these designs easier to put together and are more easy to use. 

Minimalism in websites is crucial for user experience and user interface because it causes users to find key things easier and creates a more relaxed and comfortable feeling for users. Minimal websites help users with network or computer issues to access it easier. Also, minimalism is a classic design style that is not going away; it was cool to have things simple and organized in ancient Rome and it’s still nice now.

For web designers and content writers, minimalism in websites causes less work and maintenance due to less items to make, design, and sustain. It also helps SEO for Google by causing Google’s algorithms to be able to access and access sites better.

The basic elements of minimalism in websites are:

• Purpose – what the website is for.
• Aesthetic design – what the website looks like.
• Function – how the user uses the website.

Elements of Minimalism in Websites

Purpose

In marketing, a company should have a 30-second elevator pitch ready at any point. A website should have a 20-second pitch for what it does and for whom. What the site does should be simple and obvious from at least the landing page if not the entire site. Having a website that does multiple things will make minimal designing difficult since many things will be competing for attention.

Try to either keep the website’s purpose simple and direct by:

• Moving other major and important functions to a different site.
• Organizing the functions into 3-5 categories and breaking down the elements into 3-5 subcategories using drop down menus.
• Eliminating unimportant items and functions from the site.

Aesthetic design

The next part of minimalism in websites is how it looks.

White space

White space is the area around a page that is not filled with content. (Note: white space does not have to be white: set your background a different color; just make sure your text is still easily readable.) 

Having a lot of white space helps focus the reader to key areas and can guide users through the content of the site. It also helps the design feel open and welcoming to users. Using white space generously helps content be more readable by making the content easily scannable. 

3-5 Pieces

Users hate having to drive into many parts to figure out what the main idea is or where to find things. Make sections obvious and have only 3-5, depending on the size of the sections, of them to focus the user and avoid overwhelming them.

This includes cartoons, graphics, and photographs (yes, stock images too). Since most people are visual learners, use beautiful yet relevant images to reinforce ideas of the text. It is best to use/make your own to avoid copyright and make your site unique.  Whatever images you use should be large and clear without being garish or overwhelming. If possible images, particularly cartoons and graphics should be flatter rather than 3D; this makes the image smoother and more a part of the overall design.

Typography

Content needs to be easily read and scanned. Making sure the font on a website is readable is critical. That does not mean that the font needs to be boring; there are plenty of interesting fonts to use that are perfectly readable. Make sure to: 

• Use 3 or less fonts on the entire site.
• Use fonts that have easily distinguished characters.
• Use spacing between lines and between magins.
• Use a font that looks good on different sized devices.
• Use strong color contrast between the text and the background.
• DON’T USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS!

3. Function

Similar Elements Aligned

Whether it is a list of items, a number of posts, or a line of buttons, keep 3-5 similar elements aligned with each other. This helps with the feeling of unison in the design and gives a sense of what to expect that helps users find things easily. This does not mean they have to be all in a straight line or row; this can be done in many different patterns such as:

• Diagonally
• A Triangle
• A diamond
• A Star
• A Zig-zag 
• An Arrow (use this to point to an important button or content)

Use expected UI elements

There are common element placements across the internet that users expect and look for. To avoid user confusion and frustration, keep these elements where they are expected; some things can’t be minimized without loss of something important. These elements include (but are not limited to):

• Having a login button in the top-right corner.
• Keeping a main menu either in the header or on the right hand side.
• Having a mobile menu trigger on the top-right corner.
• Placing the site’s logo and name in the top-left corner.
• Having a search bar in the header either on to the left, right, or below the menu.

Organization – Keep Like with Like

Like above, keep 3-5 similar elements and items together. Make sure that the way you organize/categorize elements is logical and easy to pick up on. This helps with the feeling of unison in the design and gives a sense of what to expect that helps users find things easily. You may want to make an organization graph of your method and elements to make sure everything is easy to find and the method is intuitive to users. Also, use proper information architecture organization to make details easier to find.

Summary

Minimalism is a design style that has little or few elements in a design. It has the added benefits of things clashing or going wrong when there are fewer parts total. Minimalism in websites causes users to find key things easier and creates a more relaxed and comfortable feeling for users. For web designers and content writers, minimalism in websites causes less work and maintenance due to less items to make, design, and sustain.

The basic elements of minimalism in websites are:

• Purpose – what the website is for.
• Aesthetic design – what the website looks like.
• Function – how the user uses the website.