Simplicity is King in Web Design	2.3/5.0 (4 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
Ralph Ramah May 07, 2007

We like to be complex in many aspects of our lives. We desire the latest electronic gadget, the most advance technology in our new car, the state-of-the-art digital camera. However, when it comes to web visitors browsing habit, nobody has time for complexity and we all want to find what we want online in the shortest possible time. What does not mean for web design companies? Why do some web design companies still propose complex web design solutions to their clients?

We live in an age where nobody’s got time. We are busy or so we like to think. So much information, so little time. So we zap through web pages expecting to find exactly what we want as quickly as possible. Why not? There are so many web pages out there. The average web surfer spends less than 10 seconds on a web site. If the web design is the least bit complicated or non intuitive, we are off to the next web site. If 10 seconds is all you have to impress your online customer, what sort of web design do you require to make an impact? The most flashy? May be not. Try simplicity and familiarity.

If you want to impress busy people who are short of patience and time, try the simplest web design you can put together. It is not surprising that Google is one of the most successful web designs in the world. How many people use the advanced search button on Google? The simplest web design solutions work. His does not mean that the back end of the web site need to be simple. You can have the most complex content management system; the most comprehensive feature set in your web design, but keeps the front end, the interface as simple and intuitive as you can.

Simple can mean different things to different web designers. Where do we start when putting together a simple and effective web design? Try Google heat map guide on where to place adsense on a web page. Granted it is disputed but it is a starting point for positioning the most relevant and poignant information on your web page. Next try a simple navigation, vertical left or horizontal top.

Many people like fancy stuff. There is nothing wrong with a bit of flash on a web design. However, avoid changing too much from the conventional paths. We all talk of change and recognise its benefits but we are animals of habit and we would rather go along the same easy path rather for hunt for new ways of getting somewhere. This principle applies in web design. Online visitors are used to navigating in a certain way. Change the path on your web design and you could make it too hard for your potential clients.

Keep it simple, keep it short and familiar. True, it does pay to design complex features into a web design. The more gadgets and flash, the more web design companies can charge for your web design. Some web design customers even want complex designs. It’s instinctive to think that the more money you spent on your web design, the more it will pay back. This is not always the case. Sometimes the simplest features, the more basic web design yields the most benefit.