5 Major Reasons Your Business Needs a ‘Minimalist’ Website

Minimalism has flooded today’s society with popular concepts like Marie Kondo’s book by only keeping items that Spark Joy, or Greg McKeown’s book on Essentialism making the compelling lifestyle approach how “less is more.” 

We live by that credo and our design principles match our work to your business with a minimalistic website, except our design concepts are looking to help you spark more revenue. 

Web designers like us are opting for minimal looks but that doesn’t mean we’re giving you any less. Today more than ever, we are inundated with offers and businesses vying for our attention. By keeping your brand and design distinct and minimal, you’ll probably gain more attention and benefit further from a minimalistic website than you would from one that has more content than necessary. 

While it may seem like a big design trend for 2020, boutique-style minimalistic websites are evergreen that function to create a unique and more personalized experience for the user by only embracing the essential parts of your business. 

1 – Your Website IS Your Business

Social media has monumentally changed the way we interact socially but in business as well. While growing a following and community is the core component to any business, the flip side to only running your business on any social media platform is a slippery slope in that at any point the site could go down, drastically change their algorithms or cease to exist. The Facebook data scandal is a great example, strictly banning users for “policy violations” or misuse of ad wording, leaving hundreds of business owners without a Facebook Business account.

We’ve all heard the ‘glitches’ these mega influencers have encountered, so let’s say you run your business through Instagram to gain all your new clients and keep in contact with them. If Instagram goes down for a day or disables one of your features, that’s a day that can be harmful to your business. To rely solely on social media is foolish. 

With a website, it’s your brand. You own that site and have control over what happens to it. You can customize it to fit your brand and it allows you to sell your company in a way you can control. Your website is a direct reflection of your brand and how you operate as a business.

For e-commerce shops, the trend or look to consider is a more boutique-esque website. Think about the difference between the J.Crew and a boutique shop like Organic Basics who have a more intimate and welcoming feel to them from the second you walk in the door or enter their homepage. Boutique shops are the equivalent to minimalist websites and offer a more personalized approach and targeted experience designed to express that. This design strategy embodies a deeper sense of connection with you and your users and creates a place for future lasting engagement. 

2 – Minimalism Sends a Clear Message

Keeping your website minimalistic helps your viewers know exactly what you’re doing. It sends a clear message as to what your services or offerings are and makes it more visually appealing. Have you ever gone onto a website and just found it was so confusing or cluttered with ads that you closed the tab without thinking twice? 

People’s attention span online is short enough. You don’t want to run the risk of having your site abandoned where they can easily refer to the next search result on Google. When you create a minimal look it requires you to polish up your message so you can clearly and beautifully speak to your target audience and become conscious about what it is you’re offering. 

3 – Modern and Clean Design Increases Credibility and Likeness

You’ve probably already heard that having a web presence is crucial, however more importantly it’s about having a clean, modern and uncluttered website with flair to increase trust and conversions. Designing a stunning look doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. 

Choosing to work with web designers who opt for minimalistic websites are far more effective in optimizing negative space and showcasing your brand clearly and succinctly. 

With so many websites out there you want to ensure that yours is credible and being seen by your audience. You want potential customers to trust you and your brand from the moment they click on your website and stay. The visual choices you make and the information you include on your site will either help gain or lose their trust. 

Pro tips to garner credibility and stand out

• A visually appealing website tells users you’ve taken the time to make it unique and relevant, which is in direct proportion to what you’re offering
• Not just listing contact information but injecting personality helps readers acknowledge that there’s a real person behind the site who wants to create a connection with their readers
• The use of clean and modern brand photography and design is the fastest way to showcase the quality of work you’re capable of delivering
• Applying reviews or testimonials from users is instant social proof
• Find ways to engage with your users or potential clients

4 – Less is More

In web design, having a minimalistic website means only keeping the elements that are essential to the site and getting rid of the extra elements and space that don’t add value. Eliminating unnecessary content, pages and graphics equate to better navigation and user experience.

This helps your viewers focus on what’s really important minus the distractions or confusion. 

Web designers think of minimalistic websites as a way to take control of your design not just getting rid of unnecessary elements. When you cut out the excess pages, narrow your marketing and keep essential content on your site, the by-product is a bigger impact. Less information on your site forces people to focus on what’s useful to them. Use this to your advantage to show people what they need to see.

5 – User Experience is Easier to Absorb

Responsive minimalistic websites load faster which reduces bounce rate. Keeping your load times to stay as low as possible, typically between 2-5 seconds, is ideal, but anything over 2 seconds will cause you to lose viewership thus upping your bounce rate.

Bounce rate refers to the percentage of users who only view one page of your site and have no other interactions. Load times are especially important for mobile users. Maintaining load times under 3 seconds, you’re looking at an average of a 32% bounce rate. With load times of 6 seconds, it jumps to 106%! Traffic means nothing if your bounce rate is slow, and sales don’t occur if people are quick to leave.

So many websites can be difficult to navigate on a smartphone which creates a poor user experience. With much of society relying on mobile devices for their internet use you don’t want to shut out a chunk of your potential business with an unresponsive site. With the huge growth in technology usage, you want to ensure a user-friendly site. Rather than adding more on your site, think about eliminating non-essentials. Doing so will improve your rankings and speed especially if you run a site that offers services.

Elements for a High-Converting Minimalist Website

Style

Your branding style should communicate your offer and vision as a direct reflection of what you do. Include things like grid layouts, use of negative space and a clean look, etc.

Branding

Your branding should be cohesive, strategic and well thought out, from your logo to your color palette. The use of monochromatic colors should be part of a fluid color palette and consistent throughout your branding. Choosing 1-3 muted or subdued colors, and possibly a bright trending tone that unites all colors might draw more attention.

Concise Message

Keep your messages descriptive but brief. Inject your personality and create an enjoyable human experience. Make sure your viewers know exactly what you do, what your vision is and what they can expect from your brand. You want to make sure that your message is always clear, concise and strong.

Clickable Elements

Give your users a way to engage. You want people to be able to continue exploring your brand while you have their attention. Making your elements clickable is a great way to keep your viewers exploring what you have to offer from social media links to contact pages. This means adding buttons, links or interactive pieces to your site that will let users continue to explore all you have to offer and connect with you. 

Creatives

Make sure you’re using high-quality, professional creative elements on your site, from the copy to images on your sidebar and everything in between. Professional (not tacky stock) images, crafted logos, and templates are what helps to communicate your message and are more enticing to the eye. Think about hiring a photographer or high-quality, affordable designer.

The most important and concise section on your site should be what you do. Where and how you implement that is key. Keeping it brief ensures that your users won’t give up before knowing what and why you run your business. This helps your viewers know if they are in the right place and align with your brand right from the get-go.

Minimalism Doesn’t Equate to Cheap

Minimalism doesn’t mean a cheap website or one that is lacking. In fact, the very essence of a minimalistic website is the concept of ‘less is more.’  Opting for this design approach brings about uniqueness and exclusivity. Web designers like us can help you strategize the best ways to express your vision while keeping it minimal, modern, and gorgeous. 

We are experts in executing your vision and coupled with modern-day design work we’ll optimize your site that will get people coming back for more.

To get your website started today, check out How to Start a WordPress Site the Easy Way

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