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Will Borges is a web designer who has created several WordPress themes that have become quite popular. He works as a freelancer and has enjoyed a happy association with SEO companies like Omega SEO. Will inclines visual arts and loves painting.

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An Introduction to Minimalist Web design That Has Contributed to Highly Functional Websites

There was a time when it was felt that adding more design features was the only way to provide the best experience to users. This led to complex website designs that helped the cause very little. Many unwanted design elements increase the complexity of websites. As a result, the visual complexity started affecting the user’s perception of a site and defeated the purpose of designing. Users could hardly be at ease with the complex design of websites that generated a negative reaction. The core elements of the user interface were lost in the complicated design features and hindered an intuitive user experience.

To find out a way from the problem, website design company UT started using fewer elements in the design to create a more valuable and enriched user experience like what you see in many WordPress themes. Designers like the Atlanta web design company started eliminating the fringe design elements and concentrated only on the core design features that supported the functionality. Several minimalist WordPress themes that have very simple looking designs have highly functional features. The approach in minimalist design is to strike the right balance between functionality and beauty by creating highly usable websites that simplify and improves user’s interactions.

Minimalist web design – what it is

The spirit of minimalism finds the best expression in the phrase “less is more” famously coined by the German American architect Mies Van der Rohe, who used minimalism in architectural design for the first time. The attitude of achieving more with less soon spread to other disciplines of arts and industries and today we experience it in web designs.

The principle of minimalist design is to make use of only the essential part of a feature by doing away with any cluttering so that the user can focus on it absolutely while at the same time enhance the elegance overall. When you apply the minimalist design correctly, the focus is on the design that simplifies the task of users. Moreover, clean designs result in lower bounce rate, better compatibility between different screen sizes and faster loading time. This approach is an answer to the growing complexities of web design that often baffle users. Let us now look into the characteristics of the minimalist design.

Adhering to the essentials only

With complete focus on the task that users have to perform, the followers of minimalism create a design strategy based on simplifying the user tasks by eliminating elements and content that does not support the tasks. For creating a truly minimalist interface, you should strictly adhere to the elements that are essential and do away with all other fancy elements that are not connected to the tasks that users perform. Nothing superfluous or decorative elements find a place in the design. Everything that is used must have a purpose attached to it whether it is an image or content. Designers must never lose sight of the users’ convenience in performing tasks on the website, which forms that basis of the design.

Use of white space

The main characteristic of minimalist design is the use of white space that plays a pivotal role in creating powerful designs. The white space also known as negative space is the space that exists between the visual elements and is the essential feature of the design. The white space that intersperses through the design upholds the visual elements by bringing it into prominence. It helps to give more emphasis to the value of the objects. Although termed as white space it does not have to be white always because space is what is essential for the design regardless of its color.

Vivid images and illustration

Images form an essential element of minimalist web design, as it is one of the most prominent elements of the design. However, the principle if minimalist also applies to the images that should be bereft of any elements that can cause a distraction. To maintain the integrity of the layout, choose images carefully so that it fulfills the minimalist conditions that suit the surroundings perfectly.

Flat texture

To remain true to the minimalist tradition, web designers use flat texture in designing the interfaces, graphic elements, and icons. To make the user face functional and not just glossy, avoid the use of shadows, gradients, highlights and other textures that do not have any impact on the functionality.

Use colors with restraint

Colors are responsible for addressing the psyche of users and create both emotional and informative connections with them. However, you have to use few colors to achieve their functional goals, and mono-color websites can also be quite effective. Use of bold typography applies a dramatic touch to the design as the use of bold and contrasting colors help to draw attention to the essential features.

Giving users just what they need to derive satisfaction determines the success of the minimalist design.