10 Tips To Help You Simplify Your Entire Website (And Score Higher Conversions)

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~ Leonardo da Vinci

We’re living in a day and age of information overload where there’s never been more “stuff.”

More products, more options, more configurations, more choices and so on.

As a result, many of us deal with perpetual mental exhaustion and have a deep craving for simplicity.

This love of simplicity translates to web design, and there’s a sound body of research that suggests that people consistently prefer a simple design over a more crowded, chaotic one.

In fact, a study by Google “found that not only will users judge websites as beautiful or not within 1/50th - 1/20th of a second, but also that ‘visually complex’ websites are consistently rated as less beautiful than their simpler counterparts.”

Furthermore, a joint study from Harvard, the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado found that only thing universal about aesthetic appeal was that “the more visually complex a website was, the lower its visual appeal.”

I can personally attest to this.

From my experience, I’ve found that the simpler the design, the more engagement my sites receive and the higher the conversion rate.

Every time I’ve split tested a simple vs. complex layout or site design, the data comes back as I predicted — simpler wins.

At the time of my writing this article, the homepage at NeilPatel.com looks like this:

Simple, but effective.

And here’s Quick Sprout.

If the page were any simpler, there wouldn’t be anything on it!

My philosophy is this:  If the page can do without it, take it away.

Here are 10 specific ways you can simplify your entire website and at the same time boost your conversions.

1. Create a Radically Simplistic Homepage

Minimalism is in. Fashion. Design. Minimalism wins the day.

When designing your homepage, try to keep it as minimalist as possible. I’ve even found that it’s okay to be a little extreme with this.

Take the Crazy Egg homepage for example.

Visitors are presented with a simple background and the option to either check out the heatmap of their website or learn more.

It’s easy on the eyes, and there’s no confusion.

If you want to see a site that exemplifies radical minimalism, check out Zen Habits by Leo Babuata.

His website looks like this:

Radical simplicity is the recipe for his success.

2. Use a Light Background

Have you ever read a book with a black background and white text?

Probably not. That would be excruciating on your eyes.

The same principle applies to effective web design.

Stick with a combination of a light background and dark text so that visitors can comfortably browse without it being detrimental to the user experience.

3. Minimize the Number of Pages

The short term memory of humans has a limited capacity and “only about seven items can be stored at a time.”

That’s why I suggest using a maximum of seven pages on your menu.

Buffer’s homepage has four options and two buttons, which is just right.

Anything more than this can be confusing and almost put users into a state of paralysis where they’re not sure what to click on.

In turn, this cognitive overload can diminish engagement and hurt your conversion rate. 

4. Follow the 80/20 Rule

Pareto’s Principle, or the “80/20” rule applies to many facets of life, and web design is no exception.

Under this rule, 20 percent of your website will deliver 80 percent of the value and vice versa.

This means that you should focus on the core 20 percent of elements that are getting the lion’s share of the results (e.g. a signup form or testimonials page).

The rest could merely be considered a distraction and is only detracting from the user experience.

Adopting this approach will help you focus on what’s most important and eliminate the fluff.

5. Make Navigation Hyper-Intuitive

The key to achieving simplicity is to not make visitors overthink.

Studies have even found that “76 percent of consumers say the most important factor in a website’s design is ‘the website makes it easy for me to find what I want.’”

It’s not that you’re trying to turn them into mindless zombies, it’s just that the browsing experience should be as seamless and as fluid as possible.

Here are some examples:

• Keep a logo linking back to your homepage on the top left hand corner
• Keep page links above the fold at the top of the page
• Use clear language for pages (e.g. “Contact” rather than “Communication”)

6. Use Plenty of White Space

Also referred to as negative space, white space is a simple way to create space between the different elements on your site.

It also helps focus a visitor’s attention on the key elements and prevents them from getting distracted.

Just think about Google’s homepage. This is one of the best examples of utilizing white space and just one reason why they’ve been so insanely successful.

The logo — Google Doodle ? changes sometimes, of course, for variety and interest. But the vast amount of white space still characterizes their design.

If your site seems a little cluttered, organize it by injecting some white space and separating the different elements.

7. Ditch the Sidebar

For years, the sidebar was considered as a staple feature of many sites, especially blogs.

But in my opinion, this can actually be a distraction and do more harm than good.

In fact, conversion expert Brian Dean found that only 1.9 percent of his visitors clicked on his his sidebar.

For this reason, I feel that it’s time to rethink whether or not you actually need a sidebar. I’ve chosen to retain one on my Quick Sprout blog, because I know that my users have grown accustomed to it. Besides, it does serve a useful purpose.

If it’s getting very little engagement and serving as more of a distraction, I would suggest ditching it.

8. Be Strategic About Your Ads

Ads are irritating. Ads are annoying.

Quite frankly, ads are ugly and add a layer of unneeded complexity. If your homepage can do without it, then get rid of them.

One possible exception is a popup modal box for the homepage. I’ve experimented with these, and gained a lot of traction from using them.

Whether or not you choose to use them depends on your own data, and what your users are targeting. Many of my users appreciate the forthright offer to my most valuable deliverable, and are eager to sign up.

Obviously, your content is a great place to insert actionable and valuable ads, too. Discreet ads in the corner of the screen or positioned below the content is a great place to put them.

ConversionXL has their ad positioned at the corner of the screen, so it’s not intrusive.

9. Keep Essentials Above the Fold

There’s absolutely no guarantee that your visitors will scroll down your site.

Therefore, any key elements beneath the fold might as well not even exist.

But by keeping the essentials above the fold, you can increase your conversion rate and at the same time simplify things for your visitors.

10. Reduce Choices

According to Hick’s Law, “when somebody is faced with making a decision, the greater the number of potential choices-decisions the longer it will take for him to make a choice.”

The more choices visitors have, the more complex things become.

I recommend examining your site to identify any areas that could be tweaked or eliminated so that visitors have fewer choices.

For instance, include only one call-to-action on a landing page rather than two or three.

Conclusion

Bombarding website visitors with information has proven itself to be a fruitless tactic.

Instead, opting for simplicity not only improves aesthetic appeal but can increase engagement and ultimately conversions.

Fortunately, achieving simplicity is fairly straightforward and relies upon a few basic principles. 

Do you have any additional techniques for simplifying your website?