Simplicity: The key to good design

The old cliche Keep It Simple Stupid applies to website design as well.  Though it's certainly my job to design whatever will make the client happiest, I always do my best to explore options and explain to clients how visitors might get lost on their site based on the overwhelming amount of information they feel is needed on one page or another.  Recently, one client had me build in widgets on the home page summarizing and linking to nearly every part of their site over the course of several revisions instead of keeping the home page simple and building a flow through the site to ensure critical information was highlighted on the appropriate page.

I touched on some of this briefly in a previous article, but I'd like to take some to review why it's so important to keep things simple for your site visitors.  Read on after the break to learn some of the benefits to bringing focus and simplicity to your site.

How Do I Make Things Simple?

It's more difficult than you might think to keep things simple on the web. Designers feel pressure to make things visually appealing and nice to look at. Companies feel compelled to tell visitors everything they can about their company/product/service and as quickly as possible. Where do you start? Here are some basic things to keep in mind:

• Develop a clear vision for your site. Think about your audience and what they're going to want to do with it. Plan sequential steps to how visitors will access this information over the course of several pages instead of spreading focus thin with too many elements on a single page.
• Consider your content: Anything that isn't meeting one of the goals of your site or your audience should be removed. Large blocks of text should be shortened or bulleted.
• Use size, color, and visual interest to make it easy for your visitors to get the most important information.
• Get feedback from your audience about how they're using the site and things that can be improved. Use that feedback as you review your user experience plan in order to tweak and tighten your site.
• At all times, remember your goals, and use them to drive the experience of your site.

What are the Benefits to Simple Design?

As you tweak your site to work better for your goals and your audience, keeping simplicity in mind will have the following benfits:

• Easier to navigate and know where to go for desired information.
• Faster loading.
• Less distraction from key items of interest.
• Greater focus on message, improving recall, and ease of use.

You Can Do It!

Although it can be challenging, spending the time to make your site a more simple and streamlined experience is within your abilities. Start out by mapping your goals, using those as your own design guide. Don't be afraid to try different ideas out and get feedback from your users. And remember goal number one: make things easy for your visitors!