Have you ever tried exploring minimalist web design theory? You’ve probably seen a lot of my web examples and heard me speak often about the minimalist approach to design.

I even have a listing on the best minimalist website examples, where less is more. But what is it really? 

Well, don’t worry! This post is meant to help you appreciate and understand minimalism better.

Let’s begin!

What is the Minimalist Web Design Theory?

The Minimalist Web Design Theory believes and uses a “less is more” philosophy in art and functionality. Thus, it is more popularly called “minimalism”.

Minimalism in web design is all about the thorough assembly of elements as an aesthetically pleasing interface that focuses on essential content aimed at maximizing user experience.

It is a dynamic shift in the presentation and design of a website’s content from a “flashy” and “information-loaded” approach to one that’s simple, clean, and “information-focused”. 

Minimalism began in the 1960s as an offshoot of World War II when abstract expressionism was the art trend. Abstract expressionism depicted motion, subjectivity, and riotic colors.

Bauhaus, Germany’s renowned art movement on functional and simple designs, greatly influenced the rise of minimalism during the said era.

As such, minimalism was easily adapted in various fields beyond architecture and fine arts. 

It took decades though before it became a trend in web design. Yet it still embodies the same traits it became famous for in visual arts minus the use of industrial materials.

What are the Traits of a Minimalist Web Design?

So what are the traits of a minimalist web design? A minimalist web design comprises basic traits similar to visual art. 

These are serial arrangements, rounded geometric elements, and monochromatic colors.

Add to the basic traits are simplicity, clear typography, hidden functional navigation, large high quality imagery, maximized negative space, and restricted features.

Let me expand each one for you.

1. A minimalist web design has serial arrangements.

Most noticeable among websites designed with a minimalist approach is the presence of serial arrangements.

The images are arranged in an orderly fashion to exude a sense of cleanliness and calm.

Arrangement comes in a serial or consistent alignment of the creative elements. It may be also arranged in a grid-like manner as in beautifully-arranged rows and columns.

A study conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group found that almost half or 43% of minimalist-designed websites organize their content using grid layouts.

Accordingly, grid layouts remove the need to add visual elements since it linearly arranges homogenous content in a page. This layout also aids in making a website responsive.

2. A minimalist web design has rounded geometric elements.

You might imagine how boring a grid-like layout may seem like. But the thing with minimalist design is that it balances this monotony through the use of rounded or circular geographic elements.

Statistically speaking, only 16% of websites using a minimalist design have rounded or circular geographic elements. 

This means there’s a big opportunity out there to use such elements in making your website design outstanding.

3. A minimalist web design has monochromatic colors.

Besides serial arrangements and rounded geometric shapes, the most prominent trait of minimalist websites is the use of monochromatic colors. Monochromatic colors, which come from a limited color palette, are used by a majority or 95% of minimalist websites.

By etymology, monochromatic means one color. It is using one color and its several hues to arrive at a color palette or theme for your website. 

Common color palettes in use for websites are green, yellow, and blue. Some use a seasonal color palette like summer and spring.

Using a monochromatic color for a website gives it an overall calm or relaxed look since the colors appear in its natural blend.

This is why using the monochromatic color palette of your brand color will not only enhance brand recall but also enrich the visual appeal of a website’s design.

Color then is used to create a visual hierarchy in the design by assigning the palette’s darkest hue to the website’s most important content such as the menu, call-to-action (CTA) buttons, discounts, and announcements. 

Popular colors for accents are red, orange, green, and purple. Rarely is pink used.

Using color in visual hierarchy is an effective means to direct visitors’ attention minus the use of graphics or other design elements. 

Often, the darkest or contrasting hue is used on clickable design elements as a means to direct visitors to explore the website’s content or begin the purchasing funnel.

Monochromatic colors are an efficient means of increasing conversions such that it is seen in 49% of minimalist websites.

Interestingly, 46% of minimalist websites use up to two accent colors.

While the majority of minimalist websites (93.73%) use a gray color palette–often referred to as muted colors–or a combination of black, white, and gray color themes.

4. A minimalist web design is made with simplicity.

Minimalist websites then are simple in nature with their organized and neat layout. This simplicity gives it an overall ambient vibe that allows website visitors to focus on what’s important and easily acquire the information they need.

5. A minimalist web design has clear typography.

Next to color, typography is an important tool used in minimalism to clearly convey the essential information needed by visitors. 

75% of minimalist websites, as per Nielsen’s study, use typography dramatically. This pertains to using easy-to-read fonts in contrasting typeface (bold, italicized, underlined), color, and sizes to add visual hierarchy in a minimalist website’s content. 

It is a necessary technique used by designers since there are few or restricted design elements in the website.

Thus, typography is used more for highlights or accents and kept to the bare minimum for content. This is meant to improve readability, which aids visitors in navigating the website easily.

6. A minimalist web design has hidden functional navigation.

Minimalist websites these days have adapted the use of hidden functional navigation, which is embodied by the now-famous hamburger menu.

Statistics show that 13% of minimalist websites have hidden global navigation out of the intent of designers to make websites mobile-friendly and “excessively” clean.

Beyond that, most minimalist websites have easy-to-use and straightforward navigation menus to ensure a pleasurable browsing experience for visitors.

7. A minimalist web design has large high quality imagery.

Another prominent trait of minimalist websites is the use of large high quality imagery that is tactically placed in the layout due to its specific purpose in the design.

Minimalist websites often have more images and less text. Imagery can come in the form of video clips or photos used as background and often located in a website’s landing page or above the fold.

Interestingly, more than half or 57% of minimalist websites use large background imagery.

8. A minimalist web design has maximized negative space.

Considered an emblem of minimalist website design, negative space allows creative elements to breathe harmoniously.

Negative space pertains to the use of white areas in the design. White happens to be the absence of color in art and connotes a subtraction of design elements.

Minimalist design, after all, involves removing elements that leave an empty area. Thus, the name negative space.

However, there is a growing trend of using black areas in minimalist design. Black being the fullness of color in art.

Negative space allows website content to be absorbed more easily by visitors and aids to direct their attention to what’s essential. This is why most (84%) minimalist websites maximize negative space in the design.

9. A minimalist web design has restricted features.

The goal of minimalism is to remove any unnecessary elements in a design, bringing it down to the bare essentials. This way, unnecessary distractions are removed so visitors may quickly and easily find what they need.

A website using a minimalist approach then reduces creative elements using a “subtract until it breaks” mentality–retain design elements that are truly necessary–or until the design is able to uphold the main functionality or message of a website.

Every element in a minimalist website’s design then is well thought of and is not a mere matter of keeping things clean, organized, and surrounded by generous white spaces.

No wonder statistics show that 87% of minimalist website’s have restrictive elements and features. This is, after all, the best way to achieve the website’s mission.

Having known the traits of minimalist web design, let me identify who can use this best for their business.

Who can use the Minimalist Web Design Theory?

Of the 219 business niches with website examples in My Codeless Website, I observed that an average of 50% use a minimalist web design per niche. 

That’s a big number! Thus, the answer to the question on who can use the minimalist web design theory is everyone and any one!

Any business owner regardless of industry or specialization can use a minimalist approach to a website’s design and enjoy its benefits.

Why use Minimalist Web Design? 

But what are the benefits of using a minimalist web design? There are many reasons why one should use a minimalist web design.

But the most important are enriched visitor experience, higher conversions, improved branding, and enhanced website performance.

1. Enriched Visitor Experience 

The website’s loading speed, intuitive navigation, and aesthetics are the three primary factors that make or break a visitor’s experience.

Statistics show that almost half or 45.4% of visitors to an e-commerce website would immediately leave or cease purchasing if it is slow loading. While every 10-second delay in a website’s load time results in a 123% increase in bounce rates.

Based on this negative experience, 11.9% of those who visited such a slow loading website will mostly tell friends about it.

While a website that does not have an intuitive design pushes 28% of its visitors to  permanently leave it. Not to mention a 50% permanently leaving a website containing irrelevant content.

In addition, the 57% who will not recommend a poorly designed website.

These statistics clearly point to the importance of a well-planned and well-designed website–one that is sensitive to the needs and behavior of its visitors.

All of these concerns are well addressed by a website with a minimalist design, which loads quickly having fewer content and contains only what is relevant. Thus, minimalist websites provide a richer experience for its visitors: no frustration from clutter and aesthetically pleasing yet functional.

2. Higher Conversions 

When visitors can easily find what they need and are easily directed to begin the purchase flow, the website is able to experience higher conversions.

Visitors to a minimalist website often spend longer viewing time and engage more with content, which increases the possibility of purchases and subscriber opt-ins.

In fact, a website redesign study conducted by Bootcamp for renowned high-quality clothing brand Minimalease had respondents generating higher rates of conversion and satisfaction for a minimalist website design.

65% of respondents were satisfied with the new minimalist design of the Minimalease website. They stated that the new minimalist design helped them in their product choices because of its navigation, clarity, and layout.

The new minimalist design also enhanced brand perception for 55% of respondents. Not to mention that 65% were satisfied with the minimalist design since it enabled them to have a positive emotional experience during the online shopping.

This is supported by 55% of respondents emphasizing the checkout process of the newly designed minimalist website makes them want to shop.

3. Enhanced Website Performance 

The fact that a minimalist design uses fewer elements means that the website uses fewer assets and code–fewer HTML elements, JavaScript, and CSS rufasterles–means  loading speed.

Thus, a minimalist website enhances website performance since it highly improves loading speed, increases conversions, and improves traffic due to enriched visitor experience.

A minimalist web design also improves the responsiveness of a website. This guarantees that, regardless of the type of device visitors used to access the website, they will have the same positive experience. 

High traffic websites also translates to higher ranking in search engine results for increased visibility online.

4. Improved Branding

On top of incorporating the company logo and taglines in the copy, using a color palette and typography aligned with the identity of a brand in a minimalist website is often the reason visitor’s experience improved brand recall.

A minimalist web design, using visual storytelling according to brand identity, puts a spotlight on a brand’s message and enables visitors to easily understand it.

With all the benefits of using a minimalist web design truly enticing, how then does one actually use it? That’s what I’ll share next.

How to use the minimalist web design theory?

Using the minimalist web design theory may seem difficult. But there are actually three areas that need to be identified to easily guide its incorporation in a website’s design.

These areas pertain to the subject, usability, and balance of a website.

1. Subject 

This is the most important content or item on a website. Once you figure it out, it should be constantly checked on its effectiveness of aiding visitor focus and engagement.

2. Usability 

These are elements in the design that enhance the user-friendliness of  and the user experience in a website. So one needs to keep check if there are any elements or features in the design that makes browsing the website burdensome.

One should also check if there are elements that need to be added or replaced to maintain the website’s user-friendliness.

3. Balance

Lastly, a minimalist design is all about creating a visually pleasing and balanced design.

This requires checking if appropriate visual weights are made in the design through the use of visual hierarchy.

Another thing to check for balance is in the use of colors. The monochromatic colors should not be too muted such that text becomes difficult to read.

There should be enough and consistent contrast in the use of colors throughout the website.

What are the limitations of the Minimalist Web Design Theory?

As with anything, the minimalist web design theory too has its limitations.

• There is the utmost need to always strike a balance between functionality (utilitarian) and design. One must be cautious in removing too many features and content that it leads to a deficit of functionality, lack of information, and diminished brand identity.

• Another is the prioritization of content. The company’s priorities and goals should always be at the forefront of design. This is where the importance of identifying the subject of a minimalist website comes into the picture to avoid difficulties in content prioritization.

• One should also keep in mind that a minimalist web design done wrong leads to accessibility problems. People with visual impairment and other disabilities may find muted colors or low contrast content difficult to read and understand.
• A minimalist website’s use of monochromatic colors may also mean a limited color palette that does not align with the company’s brand colors. 
• The choice of typography must not become superfluous that it becomes a distraction for visitors in understanding the website’s message.
• Finally, there is also the constant need to conduct user testing to ensure the browsing experience consistently matches user behavior, expectations, and needs in line with the company’s identity or branding.

Having discussed the limitations and challenges that come in using a minimalist web design, one may come to ask if it would still be relevant in the near future.

So let’s now explore the future of minimalist web design.

What is the future of Minimalist Web Design?

Experts foresee a continuous growth in the use of minimalism in web design in 2025 when the trend for sustainable design practices and low-code platforms are expected to emerge. 

Minimalism, which employs fewer codes and scripting, will still be seen on the rise in the future.

Minimalist design may take a shift using white spaces to black ones as experts predict the prevalence of dark mode in web design beyond 2025.

Accordingly, dark mode reduces eye strain and enhances aesthetics. Dark mode is foreseen as a common feature come 2025 to enhance website accessibility for those living in areas with low light. 

Visitors will be given the option to choose dark or light mode for browsing websites, which also enhances a website’s customization or personalized features. 

While its battery saving capacity makes it all the more attractive for consumers looking for environment-friendly features.

Beyond these, Appnova says the future of minimalist web design is Google’s Material Design. 

The new design style is said to echo that of neumorphism except with the presence of a “life-like material” texture, shadows, and layered effect, which could be seen by an observer’s eye with Google’s current Search Engine Results Pages.

The new design approach is meant to arrive at a universal design across platforms.

Conclusion

In exploring the minimalist design theory, one can not but arrive at a truly less is more principle. 

Less unnecessary design elements, content, and features leads to a more focused visitor experience on the website’s message, purpose, and goals. 

Correctly employing the minimalist design theory ensures creating a well-thought of content that is intuitively functional and visually pleasing. 

This, in turn, benefits not only the website’s performance, brand identity, and visitor experience but also the company’s revenue in the long run.

Sources Used:

• 123 Design
• Nielsen Norman Group
• Appnova
• SEO Web Design Houston
• Subscribed FYI
• WebFX
• Bootcamp

FAQs

1. What is the minimalist web design theory all about?

Minimalism in web design is all about the thorough assembly of elements as an aesthetically pleasing interface that focuses on essential content aimed at maximizing user experience.

2. What are the benefits of a minimalist web design theory?

The benefits of using the minimalist web design theory are enriched visitor experience, higher conversions, improved branding, and enhanced website performance. 

3. What approach is the minimalist web design theory most known for?

The minimalist web design theory is known as the “less is more” approach. 

4. Why is the minimalist web design theory a “less is more” approach?

By considering what is essential, the minimalist design theory removes anything that may distract the visitor or user of a website to its main purpose or message. 

When only what is essential is seen, a visitor or user is able to maximize the time he or she has in a website.

The visitor or user is able to satisfy his needs or purpose in a website such as getting information or purchasing an item at the shortest amount of time in a most efficient way since they are able to focus on what is essential. 

On the side of the website owner, the purpose of the website is attained minus negative user experiences at a more profitable return.