It is long since we talked about blog design (website design by implication). In this post, we’d talk about how important it is to keep the design simple and how great companies are going about it.
Judgment first, discussion later ;) . It helps in numerous ways to keep a website or blog clean and simple. It helps navigation, reduces clutter and so allows the viewer space to breathe and reduces his / her chances of getting irritated, keeps viewer focus on the most important thing you want to say, and yes it tells the viewer that things are straight here and he / she will not likely be misled.
Simplicity and cleanliness go together but are not synonymous. A simple design is the one that does not have too many elements and the elements are not too sophisticated. You have not used too many shades and hues, effects, cute buttons, smart apps, advertisements in the garb of news, etc. The visitor finds in one or two clicks what he or she intends to find. In short, simple means 'not complicated'.
A clean webpage has elements arranged neatly, a lot of white space, similar elements grouped. It highlights what needs to be highlighted and keeps all else in the background. It is readable and does not have too many colour schemes [unless the theme really demands so]. Clean is 'uncluttered', 'not unclean'.
Let’s have a look at websites of iconic tech companies. Tech, because it is in these companies’ blood to be looking at webspaces of their own and others and innovating new concepts.
Microsoft. On the first page itself, they want the visitor to know all their latest developments. There is a slideshow and big thumbnails on their products. But beyond that, the site is clear and clean.
Apple. This company sells the best in computer hardware and supports it with equally sturdy and usable software. The site is spotlessly clean and showcases just one product. Far better than Microsoft.
YAHOO! Its website is a traditional Indian bazaar: showcasing everything on the earth. It has a lot of [rather useful] stuff; it’s very newsy; it’s localized to the place of the visitor; BUT it is extremely cluttered.
Judgment first, discussion later ;) . It helps in numerous ways to keep a website or blog clean and simple. It helps navigation, reduces clutter and so allows the viewer space to breathe and reduces his / her chances of getting irritated, keeps viewer focus on the most important thing you want to say, and yes it tells the viewer that things are straight here and he / she will not likely be misled.
Simplicity and cleanliness go together but are not synonymous. A simple design is the one that does not have too many elements and the elements are not too sophisticated. You have not used too many shades and hues, effects, cute buttons, smart apps, advertisements in the garb of news, etc. The visitor finds in one or two clicks what he or she intends to find. In short, simple means 'not complicated'.
A clean webpage has elements arranged neatly, a lot of white space, similar elements grouped. It highlights what needs to be highlighted and keeps all else in the background. It is readable and does not have too many colour schemes [unless the theme really demands so]. Clean is 'uncluttered', 'not unclean'.
Great websites choose to be simple and clean
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Microsoft homepage |
Let’s have a look at websites of iconic tech companies. Tech, because it is in these companies’ blood to be looking at webspaces of their own and others and innovating new concepts.
Microsoft. On the first page itself, they want the visitor to know all their latest developments. There is a slideshow and big thumbnails on their products. But beyond that, the site is clear and clean.
![]() |
Apple homepage |
Apple. This company sells the best in computer hardware and supports it with equally sturdy and usable software. The site is spotlessly clean and showcases just one product. Far better than Microsoft.
YAHOO! Its website is a traditional Indian bazaar: showcasing everything on the earth. It has a lot of [rather useful] stuff; it’s very newsy; it’s localized to the place of the visitor; BUT it is extremely cluttered.