Why you should not over-design your website

By Markus Backman

August 9th, 2024

We live in times where everything is available in excess. Same goes for the endless options when doing a design. Many businesses can see it as tempting to try to squeeze all the designs into their website they can think of, and it easily happens that those websites become over-designed.

Naturally, how we do web design has changed a lot recently, and it still keeps evolving. The influx of website builders, code editors, graphic design tools, and Generative AI-based design tools have all contributed to designers (and non-designers) with alternative ways to work and given more options to choose from. All these implements have potentially made it tempting for businesses to incorporate too much in their website design, and overcomplicating design can lead to negative user experiences.

Lets go through a quick scan of what we are going to address in this blog post:

• Over-designing is eventually the result of trying to include too much in your web design. Doing so will most likely lead to confusion and a poor user experience among your visitors.

• There are many red flags that indicate over-designing, such as a crowded layout, exaggerated visuals/graphics, and complex navigation systems. They are contributing to an over-complicated UI/UX.

• One step forward, two steps back. You need to think about does your design add any value that serve its intended purpose. If not, it could lead to over-design.

• In this post:

What is over-designing?

Have you ever heard of over-engineering? The phenomena when engineers overcomplicate something that would work just fine with less.

Over-designing is pretty much the same thing. In the design spectrum, it refers to the manner of overcomplicating the design of a website to the extent that it no longer looks good or serves an adequate purpose, making it lacking in its user experience.

It may happen that too many elements, features, and decorative aspects are included, making the website look cluttered with stuff.

I know, it can be very tempting to over-design your website because you want to make sure everything relevant information will reach the customer, including all the visuals, navigation bars, and other stuff. But when doing so, it will easily happen that it will no longer serve your website visitors with what they truly are there for.

Signs of an over-designed website

• The layout is crowded: When too many design elements are packed into a space, the layout can feel crowded and confusing. This makes it difficult for users to focus on what’s important and can make them frustrated, eventually abandoning your site.

• Exaggerating with the visuals: Have you ever rolled your eyes back encountering so many edgy scrolling animations, hover effects, transition effects etc. when exploring a website? If you are thinking yes, then you might do so for a reason. Inflating your site with too many visual effects may make your design tasteless.

• Inconsistency: It can happen that, the more design elements on your site, the more you have to manage. It easily leads to inconsistent styles, patterns, and themes across your site.

• Complex navigation: With too many menu options, dropdowns, or unconventional navigation systems, it can be cumbersome for users to find what they are really looking for.

• Too many colors and fonts: Web designs with too many colors and fonts will probably look chaotic and unprofessional, making it hard for users to get a grasp of what your brand is really trying to communicate. Stick to a cohesive visual style throughout your whole site.

• Endless scrolling: Especially if a "load more" button is missing, endless scrolling may overwhelm the users. In most cases, endless scrolling does not add any value to your site, and your information architecture may suffer.

• Playing around too much with the cursor: Sometimes you see custom cursors that may look cool, yes, but won't really add much value to your site. A bloated, animated custom-made cursor for example may be a good example.

• No clear visual hierarchy: To lead customers into understanding your website easily, you need a visual hierarchy. Users should never have a hard time finding what they are looking for on your site, and that's why a well-structured visual order is crucial for providing information, making a strong impression, and influencing users.

• Autoplay media and pop-ups: A guaranteed sign of an over-designed website is intrusive multimedia appearing as soon as you visit the site. Autoplay media and pop-up banners should be a thing of the past as they

Why you should be afraid of over-designing

The first aspect to think about is to consider if your design adds any real value to the user experience? Trying too hard with the design may lead to an inconsistent site giving users an information overload. It's really simple, an over-designed website may lead to a poor user experience.

Continuing talking about how an over-designed website may may lead to an information overload, remember that the competition for grabbing people's attention have become harder throughout time. The internet is saturated with multimedia and information, and users are not as patient as before when looking for information on the internet. That's why you should not be afraid to strip down on your design and display only what's necessary. People are not being patient if they don't find what they are looking for in the first seconds. Less is more!'

Moving on, an over-designed website will most likely be more costly for you since it will require more resources to maintain. You may need an extra hand working on your design to keep up with all the design related implements. It's not worth it.

Take this into consideration for a better design

• Keep it simple: This may be obvious, but don't be afraid to keep your design simple. A "less is more" philosophy may truly highlight what's really important. A simple design is soothing for the user to engage with.

• Visual hierarchy: A visual hierarchy guides the viewer’s attention through the content in a logical and intentional order. It ensures that the most important elements are noticed first and the message is communicated the right way. Ensure that the website follows a logical visual hierarchy.

• Whitespace: Whitespace is all the blank space left out on your website. It's empty space, without any media, text, color etc. Some may think that leaving portions of the website empty would be a waste, should I not fill the whole site with something? Actually no, having lots of whitespace on your site can have a calming effect on your visitors.

• Monochromatic or limited color scheme: Colors matter, a lot! If done right, websites with limited colors are good looking and are easier to manage.

• Plain typography: Simple and plain fonts fit well in a minimalistic setting. Consider using a Sans-Serif type of font for high readability and functionality.

Why a moderate design may serve you better

A website designed with moderation in mind speaks for itself. Take this with a grain of salt, but according to my own experience, chances are you'll look more confident when you know you don't need to try so hard. It's like web designs that function just right don't need to prove anything further. Einstein also said “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.". In a way, I think this mentality can be applied to web design too. When a web design truly works, there's no need to prove yourself by seeking attention through exaggerating with the design.

Another personal aspect I have is that as the internet becomes filled with more and more stuff, attention spans keep falling. That need's to be addressed. Today's internet behavior is catered for super-speed and instant satisfaction. Does your website have a logical structure that gives the users the answers they are looking for within the first seconds when entering it? It's a fact that users are not as patient as before, and if they don't find what they are looking for in the first seconds, they'll go the competitor. This needs to be considered in the design.

Also, in these times of "more-is-more" culture, it can be a good idea to do just the opposite. Having a minimalistic website design can have a calming effect on the users.

Conclusion

In conclusion, It can easily become tempting to incorporate every possible design element into your website, but it's essential to remember that less is often more. Over-designing can lead to confused users, a poor user experience, and may make the site lacking in serving its intended purpose.

By focusing on keeping the design simple, a clear visual hierarchy, and a user-centric design, it's easier to create a website that not only looks good but probably communicate your message more efficiently. And as I stated earlier, today's internet is really fast-paced, attention spans keep dropping and so on. That needs to be taken into consideration. I believe that a well-designed, straightforward website is more likely to engage users and achieve your business goals.