Can a Site be too Minimal?

First of all, what is a ‘minimalist’ web site?

Minimalist design is web design that is, well, minimal. There isn’t much to ‘em in the way of graphics, widgets, etc.
Most have a white background, one image/graphic (in the layout), and not much else.

Personally, I think minimalist design is often the best. (Note: often - not always) It puts the focus on the meat of the web site - the content.
After all, that’s what your visitors are here for, right? The content, not the fancy graphics. ;-)

So, now my question is, can a web site be too minimal?

Let’s take a look at Justin Blanton.com.

Justin Blanton.com

Justin Blanton.com is a minimalist web site - obviously.
But what I want to know, is it too minimal?
(Another example: Daring Fireball)

Sure, the only thing to look at is the content, but, there’s no personality to the site.
Let’s look at RandomJabber.com

RandomJabber.com

Yes, RandomJabber.com is a minimalist site, but it has come character and individuality.
It’s memorable, and isn’t completely bland.
(Another example: Maniachal Rage)

Now, the question is, what’s the balance?
What makes a web site too minimal, and what makes a web site memorable?

I’m gonna have to say the ‘blocks’ stuck in there.
Skelliewag.org is a good example.
Skelliewag’s logo, sub-header off to the right, navigation, and ‘popular posts.’

Those components anchor down the web site, give it some character, and make it memorable.

I believe the key is memorable.
If you can make something memorable, then it works.

Any thoughts?

 

15 Responses to “Can a Site be too Minimal?”

  • I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Drudge Report. What do you think of Drudge’s design? Too minimal, or minimal enough to emphasize content without eliminating character?

     

  • I haven’t seen Drudge Report until now.
    I think it’s a case of poor design.
    The alignment is pretty poor, and the font isn’t right. It’s also too busy to be a minimalist site. It’s also an ad-spam site.
    :-/

     

  • ah, great point there mate. I think it’s not to minimal. Sure it might not have an identity but it still works. I think a site will be to minimal when it has bad usability. You could argue in a way that apple’s iphone is to minimal because it takes 2 click to switch programs. I am in no way saying its an unusable phone. Don’t flame me boys.

     

  • Hey,

    I like minimal. I think Skellie’s website suffers from being a stock template. The logo is just plain text. I think the design just looks like other sites and is not memorable. I think freelanceswitch is memorable even though the logo is simple the characters (branding) stand out.

    I think Skellie’s writing is great and very memorable though.

    Minimalist design with clear communication and good branding is often a formula for success.

     

  • Johnathan: lol I won’t flame you. ;-)

    Sean: Don’t get me wrong, I like minimal too. I’m actually designing a custom layout for plainbeta that is a minimalist.
    And agreed, it does kinda suffer for being a stock template. But it fits and he uses it well.
    But he was the first person for me to see using that template.
    Agreed - FreelanceSwitch is very memorable.

    Johnathan & Sean: Thank you very much for you input.
    That was the whole point of this post. Like I said, I am currently designing a new layout for plainbeta - so I’m trying to get opinions for it.
    Thanks! :-D

     

  • That’s interesting. I don’t think much of Matt Drudge’s design myself, but what he does is useful, and he has a huge audience, due to the fact that he broke the Lewinsky scandal, and has gotten increasing attention ever since.
    On a slightly different note, in general, what do you think of all(or mostly) text sites?

     

  • That is most interesting.
    I didn’t hear about that.
    Good for him.
    He still needs a better site. ;-)

    I’m against completely text sites. Mostly text sites can be done - but they can be screwed up too.
    I would say at least one unique graphic is needed for all the visual people (like me) out there. I find a site to be a lot more memorable if I can put an image/graphic to it. And color variations helps as well.
    But that’s just me.

     

  • Hi Brian,
    1. it’s http://www.skelliewag.org/ not http://www.skellywag.org/
    2. Justin Blanton is too minimal. It look like a piece of note that after reading you throw it away. The worst mistake he ever made is the domain name an the site name are totally different. However, with a few tweak, Justin’s design can be very effective.
    3. RandomJabber.com and SkellieWag.org are not minimal list. They employe heavy graphic elements. Especially Radom blog you can see too busy at the side bars and at footer.

    happy new year

     

  • Binh, isn’t that what I have for Skelliewag??

    Hm…
    Interesting view on RandomJabber and SkellieWag.
    I still would put them in the minimalist category - but that’s just me.

     

  • That’s strange, the first click pointed me to an unexisting skellywag.org and a Google search result page. But now it’s working fine.

     

  • That is most interesting…
    But I’m glad it’s working!

     

  • [...] Well… You can’t really describe it in detail. I’ve explored the topic before, and I received very mixed [...]

     

  • Well, thank you very much for the mention Brian! I too think of Random Jabber as more of a minimal site as it’s not graphic heavy, but over the months it’s definitely moved to the “more cluttered” category I would have to say. When Random Jabber first launched and I had no one reading, it was a very minimal design. It was a two column layout, and no massive footer that you see today. Just very basic. As I’ve added more content and more readers, I’ve expanded the site and I really don’t think I could expand anymore without making things to difficult to read.

    To be honest, I’m tired of looking at the site, and want a redesign, but I’m humbled that you and others like the design. I think that’s just the designers curse, we get tired of our own stuff to easily. :)

    Anyway, I’m rambling. I’ve been struggling to find the time to write lately, but I’d like to do some kind of a follow up on this post at Random Jabber. Stay tuned.

     

  • lol
    I know exactly what you mean.

    I want a new layout really bad…

    WakeUpLater.com only had it’s old design for two months!

     

  • [...] I have addressed minimalism before, and perfecting Minimalism has become sort of a passion of mine. [...]

     

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