What Is Occam's Razor Principle And How Can It Be Applied To Web Design?

Occam's Razor is a philosophical principle named about William of Ockham, a 14th century logician and theologian. According to the principle, the simplest explanation is usually true. In terms of web design, Occam's Razor implies that we should do something in the simplest manner possible because simpler is, usually, better. So, how can you use Occam's Razor to design better websites, whilst at the same time enhancing the user experience? You've come to the right place to find out how:

Simple design for the internet is basically all about removing barriers. These days, designers are too focused on creating a website that is "cool" - they forget about the goals they are trying to achieve and whether their navigation is easy to understand or not. This leads to an endless cycle of expensive tweaking and even complete redesigns.

Coding

There are actually a number of reasons why simple coding should be a primary focus in web design - it loads much faster and, generally, encounters very few problems. Developers, however, tend to bloat their code out due to a lazy mentality or lack of knowledge. Both of these habits need to be squashed, as slow loading websites greatly affect the user experience - who wants to wait around for pages to load?



E-Commerce

Simplicity is key when it comes to e-commerce websites, as trying to sell visitors your products will be completely irrelevant if they cannot figure out the purchasing process - they'll take their business elsewhere. The process can be simplified by: making the search box a prominent feature of the web design, avoiding asking visitors to duplicate information, and spacing out your products for readability.

Copy

As most web designs will rely on their content to explain their services, products and other ideas, it really does make sense to ensure that this text is phrased in a way that is easy to understand. Try saying what you need to as briefly as possible - don't worry about trying to sound intelligent by cramming in big words and dictionary definitions. Make sure that your copy is interesting and engaging and your visitors will read on anyway.

As you can see, applying Occam's Razor principle to web design can be achieved without even thinking about it. All you need to do is focus on simplicity in your work - better websites and an improved user experience will flow naturally from this practice. The next time you are working on a design, ask yourself whether the code has been simplified, whether the shopping cart is easy to use, and whether the copy is understandable.

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