What is Minimalism?
Table of Contents
Businesses Get a Slice of the Filling “Hollow Pie”
It’s not just users who benefit from embracing a minimalistic approach to web design, businesses can take advantage of simplistic principles and prominent aesthetics to boost customer attention and satisfaction, convert views into sales, and quickly establish brand trust or credibility. In a constantly changing digital landscape, quickly adapting to latest and effective design trends is a vital part of strategic marketing for businesses of any scale to maximize their presence on the internet.
#1: Leading Customers to the Objective Without Interruption
A streamlined website quickly leads customers into completing desired actions such as signing up for a membership or making a purchase. Reducing visual distractions or clutter and making a call-to-action more prominent using white space can significantly boost the call-to-action’s effectiveness, resulting an increased chance of conversion. Adding intuitive and user-friendly navigation improves website usability and overall ease-of-use. Combining these minimalist design aesthetics consequently reduces risk of customer frustration or poor customer experience.
By properly utilizing white space, research shows that website readability can increase by up to 20%.(6) In a study comparing design types, it shows that the average time to complete a task was 15% faster for minimalist designed websites, while content-rich websites achieved a 25% higher error rate compared to minimalist counterparts.(3) Well-designed user interfaces using intuitive and user-friendly designs can also boost conversion rates by 200%, leading to higher customer satisfaction and product sales.(1)
Small changes in website design can make a big difference. Simply by highlighting its call-to-action against a minimalist backdrop, Dropbox’s conversion rate increased by more than 10%.(1) Streaming giant Netflix also utilizes a simple but bold call-to-action on its landing page that easily stands out against a minimal and dark background, making the expected action clear for new visitors.(1) In another example, Zara’s homepage utilizes minimalistic principles by using a clean and straightforward layout with high-contrast typography and ample white space to help customers navigate their catalog, leading to quick purchasing decisions.(1)
#2: First Impressions Are Everything
In contrast to the common saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”, customers objectively judge a website’s and its associating brand’s trust or credibility by the way it looks. Web designers well versed in the art of visually appeasing their target audience are aware of this and therefore they design websites that quickly exude a strong sense of trust and professionalism upon a visitor’s “first landing”. Having a powerful first impression for the target audience is often the most important investment for businesses at any scale, translating into a strategic long-term asset if executed properly.
Statistics show that 94% of a website’s first impressions are design related, therefore creating visual appeal is critical for quickly establishing customer interest and building trust. First impressions of a website are formed in a flash, within 0.05 seconds of a visitor landing on the page, with research showing that 75% of perceived website credibility comes from design.(5) Even color has a significant factor in design. 85% of consumers chose color as the reason for buying a product. Using the right color palette that aligns with the brand’s identity and resonates with the target audience can create visually appealing and memorable experiences while browsing a website and its products.(6)
Apple’s homepage is an exemplary example of attractive minimalist design, focusing on high-quality product visuals and essential information upon first landing. The design approach not only reflects the brand’s identity but also effectively showcases their sleek and stylish products, which greatly boost conversion and encourages product sales.(1)
#3: Flattening the Code to Inflate SEO Scores and Efficiency
Web developers can greatly benefit by embracing a minimalistic approach when implementing code. Having limited and simple elements being coded and rendered contributes to a more lightweight website, leading to faster load times, higher SEO scores, and higher search result rankings in popular search engines such as Google.(7)(8) Search engines often use a website’s load time as a factor when determining SEO scores, therefore web developers are incentivized to make the websites more efficient.(1) An efficient code also helps the environment by reducing the amount of power required to render a website, so both humans and the earth can breathe easier each time the website is loaded.
As a testament to this and often credited as a pioneer of minimalist web interfaces, Google’s own homepage features only a search bar on a plain white background, which prioritizes core functionality and results in faster load times and improved user focus.(8)
#4: It’s Not Just Diamonds That Are Forever
When it comes to websites, there have been many design trends over the years or decades that went just as quickly as they came. While there’s nothing inherently wrong about trying to stand out from the crowd, there’s one common factor for any business or company seeking to create the next defining “wow” moment in web design: it costs money and a lot of it. This is where a minimalistic approach to web design breaks out of that loop.
Unlike countless other designs that gradually became obsolete due to frequent changes in opinion of what society perceives as unique, minimalist designs usually retain their efficacy longer thanks to combining nonsensical and simple aesthetics with prominent and straightforward elements or content. This reduces the frequency of major website redesigns, saving businesses time and money in the long run can then be allocated into other important projects or investments.(7)