Minimalist Website Design: Why Is It So Popular?

If you remember the internet back in the 00s, you surely remember it being vastly different. Flashy, brave, very individualistic… so unlike the modern web, which is often simple and minimalist. But why is that? Why is minimalist website design so widespread?

Minimalist website design

Back then, the web was wild. Everyone was showing off their skills, which resulted in websites becoming bloated, heavy, and unfriendly towards the user. Of course, not every website was like that. Still, as the internet stopped being considered a gimmick and invited people from all over the world, the designers started thinking about such things as accessibility. And when mobile phones started taking over, the era of overly busy pages truly ended. 

In 2022, you have to think about mobile usage first, and cell phones, no matter how fancy, have smaller screens. Legibility and load speeds became what mattered the most — for SEO, too. 

After all, you might treat your website like a work of art, but in the end, a website with no substance and no quality content will always end up behind the competitors. The truth is, content is the king. That’s what people want. The web is not a gallery but a collection of useful resources. The easier it is to access them, the better. People don’t look for beauty, they look for information. 

Does it mean that the era of creative freedom is over? Surely not. Every month sees the appearance of genuinely great websites. But most of them are no more than proof of concept. Any “real” site is about good navigation, legible text, and fast loading speeds. The faster you learn that, the quicker you’ll become a pro.