Clean web design

Cleanliness is essential for a good web design. Many people mistakes clean design for minimal design. Both styles have things in common, they are not the same. While minimal design is about using the bare essential elements in designing a website and do more with less, clean design is more about having every element exactly where it has to be. You can have a site full of unnecesary elements, but still keep each one of them in its place. Clean web design is an effective way to convey an image of elegance.

Among the main characteristics of clean websites we found: clean typography, uncluttered layout, unified color choices, visual hierarchy and judicious use of white space.

White space is key in clean websites. Also, referred to as negative space, white space is that portion of a website left unmarked: the space between images, texts and objects. Like silences in music, white space is not merely the absence of content, but an important element of design which balances positive and negative spaces of a design. Judicious use of white space can give a site an elegant appearance and improve readability. It is important to use just the right amount of white space the design requires, lots of white space does not make a design better.

An uncluttered layout with a strong visual hierarchy is also important in clean websites because it helps balance visual aspect of the site and control how visitors view it, following the path that the designer has created for them. Position, size and color are the basic attributes that determine the hierarchy of an element in a design. Mastering visual hierarchy is crucial to create a clean website.