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“It takes a lot of hard work, to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” Steve Jobs
Over the last few decades, Apple and other companies have demonstrated that simplicity is a powerful competitive advantage. Indeed, simplicity has the ability to profoundly transform a business.
So, if simplicity can propel businesses like Apple to new heights of financial success (Apple is the world's largest company by market cap), why is it so rare in web development and design?
There are several reasons for this, including the fact that web developers are more interested in technology than utility, though the growing importance of UX design has tampered with this. Others may see complexity as a deliberate ploy to charge generally tech-naive clients.
The key reason, however, why simplicity is a rarity in web design and development, is that it’s not easy.
And yet simplicity has never been more needed. A Google study, among many others, confirmed that users find simple sites more appealing. Visually complex websites, according to this study, were “consistently rated as less beautiful than their simpler counterparts”.
It is commonly said that first impressions are made in the first few seconds of meeting someone. The same is true of websites because a website’s first impression is a crucial moment for capturing the user's interest. Within a fraction of a time, people build a first visceral “gut feeling” that helps them decide whether they are going to stay at this location or continue surfing other sites.
There is a confluence of forces that make simplicity an imperative in web design and development, and they include the following:
The average person is inundated with information, which makes it difficult to distinguish information and make decisions.
Attention has become the most valuable resource as a result of the information overload and time compression that people are dealing with.
Globally, it is widely acknowledged that the proverbial next billion users present a massive opportunity for businesses large and small. In Africa in particular, with a growing smartphone ownership, mobile is the primary mode of internet consumption. Given that many in this segment may not be literate, it is critical that the user experience and interfaces are as simple as possible. Current choices reflect a desire for simplicity. For instance, in South Africa (SA), and elsewhere in the emerging markets, bank customers have long preferred to use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) banking over banking apps due to its simplicity, despite the growing availability of mobile banking apps.
Too much information or data makes it difficult for consumers to make decisions, and they simply opt out of engagement. Given the value of attention, companies must do everything possible to remove complexity, and simplify the experience for users and customers, allowing them to move down the conversion funnel with as little friction as possible.
A company's website and app effectively become a crucial client interface as more and more businesses move online, a development that has been pushed by COVID. Digital engagement points must be straightforward and simple to navigate in order for businesses to ensure that they stand out. Additionally, simplicity can be used to convey a company’s essence and integrity.
• Less obsession with the latest technology trends.
• Prioritising solving problems that achieve intended objectives over focusing on features of digital assets.
• Designing and developing for the target audience in mind.
• Visualisation –
1. Companies that have a distinct brand identity and visual language can stand out from their competitors and promote trustworthiness. Apple is a good example.
2. The colour scheme of the brand should be used cohesively. Design layouts with clearly illustrated call-to-action buttons, or links directing users to other pages or information are beneficial for sale conversions.
3. Use of relatable imagery and avoidance of clutter. Large image sizes slow down your site's loading time. Users tend to abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. This is also true for video content.
4. Readability is important for all users. Choosing typography/fonts that are readable rather than going fancy makes your site content accessible.
5. Motion and flashy interactions should be used with caution because they have the potential to distract users.
6. Content that is necessary, concise, clear, consistent with the brand, and useful tends to increase conversions.
7. Using the “less is more” approach reduces cognitive load.
• All users benefit from accessible and inclusive design. Consider accessibility standards in your designs to ensure that no users are excluded due to inaccessible content. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative outlines the fundamentals of web accessibility with the primary goal of ensuring that all users, including those with permanent or temporary disabilities, may have ease in utilising the web interface.
From a design standpoint, simplicity, in particular, can provide significant benefits to digital engagement points. Search engines, for example, can more easily crawl and understand your website, resulting in higher visibility in search engine page results.
Researchers in India have indicated that iconography, for instance, can be used to eliminate the need for language in the user interface (UI). For that to happen, the first step is prioritising simplicity and clarity in the communication about a product and its benefits.
A practical example would be the use of universally recognised signs and symbols in conjunction with supporting text to drive conversions or specific actions. Further taking care to consider the geographical and cultural context in symbolism.
Based on Asian trends, it is reasonable to conclude that the next billion users in South Africa may gravitate towards new methods of accessing digital information on user interfaces such as voice-driven searches and vernacular languages.
The points raised above demonstrate that many factors must be considered when designing simple digital experiences that achieve the desired outcomes for businesses. Companies must therefore exercise caution when selecting their web design and development partners, as this has a direct impact on their bottom line.
Companies that can simplify digital experiences have a good chance of outperforming their competitors. And, as a result, enjoying financial success in the same way that Apple and other companies have.
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