Simple, Clear, Concise, and Stops You in Your Tracks

Ever look at Google’s home page?  The elaborate and complex technology that makes Google do its thing is concealed by a façade which is about as simple as you can possibly get. Think about what you see on the screen. A colorful buoyant six-character logo, a large empty search box, and no more than a couple of dozen small unobtrusive words sprinkled in. Now – think about what you don’t see!

Power and simplicity – what a combination!

Whether by design or by accident, Google clearly has the right idea. And anyone designing a website would be well-advised to take a lesson from them: simplicity is a good thing!

Less is more.

The human mind has a limit as to how much visual information it can process at one time. Put another way, if there are too many things to look at, you end up seeing none of them. If you want your website to captivate people, then you need to make it captivating. A big part of that equation is keeping it clear, concise and simple.

Here are 5 quick tips on how to make your site look both simple and captivating.

1. Avoid clutter

Nothing can be more of a turn-off than clutter. This is as true of websites as it is of desks, rooms, garages, houses, and minds. There are many ways you can avoid the cluttered look:

• Fonts: Limit the number of fonts you use to one or two basic fonts and stick with them.
• Spacing: Let your site breathe a little. Don’t let the words and pictures run into each other. And be sure to mix in plenty of white space to give eyes a rest.
• Content: It’s often hard to resist the temptation to cram as much information as possible down people’s throats. But resist you must. Remember, less is more!

2. Make the colors pleasing to the eye

Choosing the right colors for your site can seem like an easy thing to do but it can actually require some thought. You want the color scheme to be eye-catching without being eye-straining.

• Contrast: A low contrast between text color and background color can strain the eyes and make the site difficult to read.
• Consistency: Keep the color scheme on your site consistent from one page to the next. A consistent look to your site is also a comfortable look.

3. A picture is worth a thousand words

People are visual animals. We are instinctively attracted to pictures and images.

• Use pictures: Rather than filling your site with a lot of wordy text, try to use images and graphics instead.
  • When a visitor is confronted with a lot of words, their first thought is that they are being asked to do a lot of work reading and understanding.
  • When that same visitor sees images and graphics, they feel as if you are giving them something instead of asking them to give you something.

4. Make the content clear

Make sure your words are attractive, clear and easy to digest.

• Clarity: Make your content crisp by using bullet points or numbered topic titles.
• Benefits of bullets:
  • Content is easier to read.
  • Readers can more easily absorb your content.
  • Give readers a choice of topics to digest and the freedom to read about the areas that interest them in more detail.

5. Simplify navigation

Don’t let your site visitor wear out their finger clicking on a mouse button. Make it easy and intuitive for them to navigate your site.

• 3 click rule: Your reader should be able to reach any page with no more than three clicks.
• 1 click rule: Important pages should be accessible with one click. For example, your ‘About’ and ‘Contact’ pages.

Next Steps

Simplicity is a powerful thing. It attracts people, holds their attention, and keeps them coming back for more.

When you recognize the power of simplicity and know how to incorporate simplicity into your design, you attract visitors and keep them at your site longer.

• Take a look at your site and see if one of your best articles (best in your opinion that is) is simple and powerful.
• Can you improve it with less words, more space, a beautiful image, some bullets or some well-placed links?