I have started appreciating simple websites more and more.
Not because complex websites are bad, but because simplicity is surprisingly difficult to get right.
A website can have animations, gradients, fancy interactions, and dozens of components and still feel less enjoyable than a page that simply gives you what you came for.
Less can be more
When I visit a website, I usually want a few things:
- Find the information I'm looking for.
- Understand it without unnecessary effort.
- Navigate somewhere else if I need to.
- Leave.
That's it.
A good website doesn't need to constantly compete for my attention.
Good design often feels obvious after someone has done the difficult work of removing everything unnecessary.
Performance is part of the experience
Performance isn't just about benchmarks.
If a page takes several seconds to become usable, the experience feels slow regardless of how beautiful the interface is.
Things like:
- Smaller JavaScript bundles
- Optimized images
- Good typography
- Sensible caching
- Server-side rendering
- Minimal unnecessary dependencies
can make a noticeable difference.
Sometimes the best performance optimization is simply not adding something in the first place.
Technology should serve the content
It's easy to get excited about a new framework or library.
I've done it too.
But technology is ultimately a means to an end. If I'm writing an article, I don't want the reader thinking about whether the page uses Next.js, React, or anything else.
I want them thinking about the idea.
The implementation should quietly do its job.
For example, even something as simple as:
const article = await getArticleBySlug(slug);
can represent a fairly large amount of work behind the scenes.
The reader shouldn't need to know about any of it.
Simple doesn't mean boring
This is probably the distinction I care about most.
A simple website can still have personality.
It can have:
- Strong typography
- Thoughtful spacing
- Good writing
- Subtle interactions
- A distinctive visual identity
- Fast and accessible pages
The goal isn't to remove everything.
The goal is to keep the things that matter.
What I'm trying to build
That's also part of what I'm trying to do with this website.
I don't want it to become a collection of pages built simply because a technology makes them possible.
I'd rather have a smaller number of useful pages and articles that I actually enjoy maintaining.
Maybe that means fewer features.
Maybe that's okay.
For me, that's the appeal of a simple website: there's less between the idea and the person reading it.