Keep Your Site Minimal
Keep It Minimal should be your mantra when crafting your online marketing. From Google Ads to your Homepage, everything should be designed to make a positive quick impression, so the consumer will click through the ad/continue to explore your site.
Minimalism is an artistic movement that became popular in the 1950s. It focuses on the idea that art has its own reality and does not need to imitate or aspire to be our own. In more recent years, it has evolved to almost a philosophy of less is more.
Minimalism has influenced every form of artistic expression since and marketing is no exception. It has grown far beyond its original idea, but the concept is still relevant today.
If you want to have a successful website, here are a few reasons why minimalism is important when you start the build process:
- Accessibility: Simple templates and color palettes typically have more contrast, making them easier for colorblind consumers to read. If you are interested in making your site more accessible to consumers with disabilities, please visit The A11y Project. [link]
- Readability: Unless someone is purposefully researching a topic or reading something that interests them, consumers will largely skim blocks of text at best. To be frank, your site should not have any single text boxes that are over 3 sentences long on the Homepage. This encourages the consumer to continue to explore the website for more in-depth information. The longer they willingly stay on your site, the better.
- Mass Appeal:
- General Aesthetic: As someone who has a lot of strongly held opinions about patterns and color palettes, I beg you from the bottom of my heart, KEEP IT MINIMAL. You do not want to scare people off your site because it largely features their least favorite color or pattern.
- Content: In the hands of a skilled copywriter, the minimal text will be able to create a “reality” in which the consumer has a problem and your business is the solution. You might only have the consumer's attention for a few seconds, so it is imperative to make it count with clear, concise, and engaging content.
- Loading Times: Fast loading for websites is SUPER important for keeping people on your site. Applying the idea of Minimalism in its more modern context "under the hood" can unclutter what's loading on the page. Here's some starting tips:
- Uninstalling plugins or modules you don't need.
- Make sure your big photos have small file sizes so phones don't struggle to download them. Have extra add-on scripts load last instead of first, so content shows up quickly.
Think of your website as a full-page ad in a newspaper: You want to give as much information as you can in a trim, concise and eye-grabbing manner. Keeping It Minimal is key.