I’m aging myself here, but I vividly remember the early days of Internet – I remember waiting for my AOL Dial up to dial in – the screeching and ringing of the phone wires connecting me to pure Internet bliss.
And what waited on the other side? Websites littered with animated gifs, flashing glitter backgrounds and midi files playing instrumental versions of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.
Let’s face it, the old style of thinking was that the masses wanted more, and more, and then maybe just a little bit more. Every website wanted to be bigger, better, and brighter than the rest…
But then, something changed, and today we’ve seen a fundamental shift in what people consider effective. Minimalism is so hot right now. Seriously. Take a look at some of your favorite websites. Gone are the days of “in your face” design. Now we’re seeing a love of white space, clean lines, simple navigation, and clear calls to action.
We have finally reached the breaking point
We live in a world in which we are constantly inundated with information. We are consumption whores, we take in data from every angle – it’s thrown at us from literally every direction and at times, it’s impossible to break away.
The challenge for marketers and designers in this day and age is to get their message across as clearly as possible, without confusion, without “noise” and clutter.
Minimalism isn’t only changing the way we live, it’s changing the way we do business. Here are a few extremely important things to consider when putting together the design of your website.
White space is not the devil
Our minds are taught to think that, when we see empty space, we have to fill it, with something, anything, we have to get rid of that “emptiness”. Step one is breaking free of this mindset. Every void does NOT need to be filled, focus on what’s most important and take it easy on everything else.
Make it easy to get around
The worst thing you can do to a new visitor of your website is to provide them with a confusing map to point “X”. It’s critically important that your website’s navigation is easy – and where you can, consolidate. The more pages within pages within pages you have, the easier it is for your audience to get lost. The KISS model applies here (Keep it Simple, Stupid)
Calls to action should be OBVIOUS
I emphasize the word “obvious” here. Want to build your e-mail list? Promoting a new product? Looking to increase event registrations? Your online marketing strategy needs focus and direction – decide what you primary call(s) to action are and stick with it. Don’t clutter your message and confuse your audience.
Above all, understand that we’re receiving a lot of messages out there, be aware of your customer/readers needs (this requires a bit of research on your part), and when in doubt, there’s nothing wrong with flat-out asking, poll your community, find out what they do like, don’t like, and what you can improve upon. Feedback is golden. You will stand out if your message is clear and effective.
What “looks good” and what’s “effective and functional” can be two completely different things. Substance beats style, every time. Without content to back it up, a stylish website will always fall short.
What are some websites that really stand out in your mind? How do you think you can improve upon your current site’s layout and design?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
In high school computer class I totally had a website with an animated gif of a super cool 3D trumpet (former band geek).
Unfortunately, the web is still littered with splash pages with a minute long flash intro welcoming you to the site and blogs that autoplay music (though thankfully mp3 has replaced MIDI).
These days it’s all about clean lines and making it easy for the visitor to see what you offer and how to get there.
Didn’t we all? It seems like it was just yesterday when everyone was going nuts over http://www.hampsterdance.com/ (which now sadly has gone all Web 2.0 on us).
Autoplay anything is pretty much a cardinal sin, at least in my mind. The worst thing is when you’re listening to your favorite Itunes playlist only to come to a website with some music that kicks off before you click anything – totally ruins everything, right?
If you’re confusing your website visitors, odds are they aren’t going to sign up for your e-mail list, continue reading, or buy your product. Common sense, really, but a lot of folks still aren’t on board.
To be fair, the web has also changed so much that if your website isn’t up to standard, you might not get readers. Some people really do judge a book by their cover and the stylistic designs is what catches their eyes. The design can instantly date you and particularly web savvy people might take you less seriously. Substance is important but first impressions matter.
Having said that, thank goodness for the trend towards minimalism. I admit that one of the first things that I liked most about your site(s) was the utter simplicity of it. It’s very zen.
Also, on a side note, “consumption whore” is a funny phrase simply because of the double entendre. Well done.
Zen is good, I take that as a huge compliment, so thank you. And I agree, first impressions do very much matter. People DO judge books by their covers – so it’s important to make sure you leave a great initial impression WITHOUT overwhelming them. It’s a delicate balance, eh?
Thanks for stopping by Mandy!