Are you considering to follow the minimalist website design approach? There are several ways to make your web design ultra-minimalist, read the article to learn more about them and check some examples.
Minimalism is a trending design approach that is popularly applied in web design as well. In simple terms, you can understand the minimalist web design approach as simplifying the interface to get rid of superfluous elements. Less is more. And less is not only beautiful when it comes to web design. It has plenty of benefits as well. For instance, a minimalist web is more user-friendly, more responsive, loads web pages faster, makes navigation intuitive, and allows users to concentrate better on the services or products you sell.
Here are 8 of the best practices you can start applying today.
Be picky while selecting images
Pick the wrong image, and your design integrity could be ruined. As long as you know where to use them, images can communicate ideas and can serve as a focal point, as in the snapshot below. If you visit Airbnb’s homepage, for instance, you will find that while the booking form is still the page’s main focus, the high-quality and visually appealing background image will definitely capture your attention.
Using images that evoke emotion could be beneficial as people are often based on emotions while making decisions and later back them up with logic. Also, images can create a visual balance, whether it is symmetrical or asymmetrical. Whenever you pick images for your design, select those that follow minimalism principles and aren’t overloaded with details.
Opt for neat and readable typography
Typography selection should be done with care as it often ends up creating focal points. Go for neat and legible typography and limit your use of fonts to not more than two if you strive for minimalism.
Here’s the example of a web concept based on the minimalist layout and readable typography.
Web design concept by Matt Woitas
Instead of going for a third font, if required, consider playing with the size and weight of the selected fonts. You can also use text blocks to allow visitors to better understand and consume your site’s content.
Web design by Nathan Riley
Over-sized typography is another minimalist trend that can successfully draw visitor’s attention and pass on the intended message.
Limit the number of colors, not your color selection
If you think that monochromatic color schemes are the be-all and end-all of minimalism, you are wrong. You can use bold and bright colors to come up with stunning designs without sacrificing minimalism. Just ensure to keep the number of colors less, with three colors as maximum. Or use contrasting bright colors and eye-catching accents to draw attention to the right places. The high contrast between the saturated background and bright accents does the trick.
Negative space
Negative space is a primary design element in minimalism. Most designers use white, black, or other dark hues as backgrounds, but you can also express the negative space with colors and employ simple navigation to lure visitors into your website.
If you take a look at Dropbox’s website, the combination of the natural color palette and a harmonious font creates a calming effect while enhancing user experience.
Other than this, negative space can influence the visual flow of the visitors. The more negative space you leave around an element, the more the eyes will be drawn to it. You can also organize the elements more comprehensively with negative space so that users are not overwhelmed with the design. Generous negative space is linked with a sense of luxury.
Simplify navigation
Effective yet simple navigation design is crucial to allow users easily to find what they are looking for or know exactly what they will get. Navigation brings a sense of structure and organization while serving as a guide for visitors.
To ensure that your site is easy to navigate, put things where users expect them to be located. They should be able to navigate to any page in two or three clicks. The main site pages should be accessible in one. From sidebars to header menus or footer, you can present navigation in several ways.
The navigation design below for Mær Seaweed, a company that sells nutritious food is simple, clean, and elegant embodying the minimalist design concept. Their short content meaningfully describes what you will get when you navigate through their site.
Grid layouts
You can use grid layouts in your minimalist designs to effectively organize contents that are similar on the page linearly without bringing in other visual elements. It is also crucial while designing a responsive website. Though it is a different trend, it co-occurs with minimalism. Creating custom grid layouts can get a bit technical, so you can hire freelance designers to help you out with this task and get it just right.
Embrace icons
Icons used effectively can enhance accessibility, minimize the amount of text or type on your web pages, and allow users to glide through from one page to another. For instance, some website themes integrate icons throughout the page to aid navigation while explaining their intent. You can bring vital content to the point with icons and grab attention as well. Just ensure to base the icons on metaphors that people will easily understand. Otherwise, you can use descriptive text to introduce them.
Find the balance
It is important to find a balance while creating a minimalist web design. The images and graphics you use should support the content at hand. Don’t simply use them for the sake of adding more color or taking up space. See that the graphics you use are bold enough so that they are visually impactful without being messy.
Using charts and graphs can help you to display information more neatly than presenting them in several paragraphs of texts. And when possible, you can replace words with images or even use videos and animation.
Wrapping Up
Creating a minimalist web design is not as easy as it sounds. But when the approach is effectively applied, it looks stylish, and they offer superior user experience. A minimalist design web can communicate well with the audience. Even if visitors arrive at your website for the first time, they feel familiar and can easily find what they are looking for.
About The Author: Pratik Dholakiya is the Founder of Growfusely, a content marketing agency specializing in content & data-driven SEO. He regularly speaks at various conferences about SEO, Content Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Digital PR. Get in touch with him on Twitter
Title image from Rush pack in Ouch vector library
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