Minimalism can take on several different meanings, may it be an art form or a lifestyle. In web design, minimalism is also a very popular approach. You may want to experiment with colors, navigation, transition, broken composition, or a total overhaul of your website. Rest assured, there are many ways on how to implement a modern minimalist approach on your website.
In this post, we are going to explore minimalism as we try to apply it in digital web design, going over the main principles and elements. You may have thought about building your website through website creators like Wix. So, if you are curious about its pros and cons, you might want to read through this Wix website review. If you want to know more how to make a modern minimalist website, then keep on reading.
The Main Principles of Minimalist Web Design
Minimalism is defined as a technique or style, characterized by extreme simplicity. This concept can also be applied in literature, music, or design. Web design is no different. If you want to incorporate a minimalist design on your website, here are some of the main principles you need to take note of.
A minimalist website should have a user-friendly interface. It would also be aesthetically beautiful if the navigation is hidden and if you wouldn’t use more than three colors at the same time. In addition, you may want to spare lots of empty space. It would also be helpful if you experiment with fonts, see which ones look the simplest yet attractive. Lastly, you should not indulge so much in detail, which may include shadows, color transitions, and textures. To sum, minimalist web design would mean that you simplify its interface by getting rid of unnecessary elements.
Creating a minimalist website also has other advantages. In fact, studies from Stanford revealed that more than 75% of internet users judge a business’s credibility just by looking at the website’s interface. As we have mentioned, it would be in your advantage if you consider making a minimalist website because it is trendy. Not only that, it will stay trendy for a long time.
Another reason to consider minimalism in web design is that it makes the webpage a lot more responsive. In addition, your website will load faster if there are fewer objects on that specific page. Minimalism also allows your users to concentrate more on your product or service, instead of wasting their time on unimportant things on your webpage. Lastly, it makes navigation a bit more intuitive.
While webpages that incorporate minimalism are very easy to maintain, designers, even those that have adequate experience in the field, make the mistake of making the products appear unfinished just because they didn’t think over the design a lot more thoroughly. Additionally, while hiding important navigation buttons might seem in favor of minimalism, it may create an uncomfortable user experience.
How to Make Modern Minimalist Website
Use of white space
White space, also known as negative space, is the space in between the elements in each composition. There could be several advantages to using negative space but most importantly, it certainly improves user experience while they concentrate their attention on the content and your product. To add, it adds balance to your design. You may also want to start being conscious as to what occupies the space found between your page’s main content. Doing so will make your website more captivating for readers, making them stay a lot longer and scroll further. This, truly, is one of the main tricks to incorporate a minimalist style in web design.
Use of bright colors
While bright colors are fun to look at, implementing them in a minimalist website can be a bit tricky. Vivid background colors call the user’s attention but too much of it might become irritating to the user, as well. It is important to take note that when you use bright colors, you also need to mix them up with toned-down and more soothing hues. It may also be helpful if you use white or black typography. Be sure to avoid complex animations, over the top fonts, as well as sharp transitions.
Choose the right type of font
In case you didn’t know, striking bold fonts are one of the most popular trends in terms of web design in 2018. You can be creative but make sure that the font is easy to read and is effective in catching the reader’s attention. When you consider minimalism, the efficient use of typography could effectively compensate for animations and overall imagery. Thus, making your webpage a lot more attractive.
Font size is another thing to consider when creating a minimalist website. Using smaller fonts might be a great way to present information without compromising the space. However, you should always be careful because small texts easily get lost on the webpage.
Set up navigation
As discussed in the earlier section, minimalism is the art of less. Sometimes, designers go out of their way to remove every bit of excess buttons, including the important navigation buttons. While it makes total sense to eliminate rarely used buttons, you also need to make sure that you will not be hiding links that are deemed important to your users. Our advice is that you leave the Menu8 button as it is while encapsulating the rest of the buttons inside it. It would also be helpful for your users if you would highlight the buttons, letting your users know that these are clickable.
Choose your images carefully
Beautiful images are the very reason why there is a dedicated industry for web design. If you are using pictures on your website, make sure that they are large enough. In addition, you may want to consider choosing high-definition photos, thereby creating an emotional connection between your users and your website. It is noteworthy, however, that you don’t need to use images for decorations alone but it should be able to display your products and services as well.
