Over the decades Wix has been immersed in the world of web design, plenty of trends come and go. From the lifelike skeuomorphism to the avant-garde appeal of brutalism, each has left its mark. But there has been one that has had real staying power: minimalism.
Minimalism's endurance can be attributed to a fundamental principle: it prioritizes function over form without sacrificing the latter. It's akin to choosing sneakers over heels, where utility triumphs over aesthetics.
But let's be clear—this isn't a dismissal of those who want to adorn their sites with glitter and glamour. It's merely a recognition that, when it comes to making a website with a lasting impact, extravagance isn't a prerequisite. Minimalism, with its elegance and efficiency, has proven itself as the timeless foundation for leaving a meaningful mark in the digital world. Don’t believe us? These minimalist website design examples do just that.
Minimalist websites to inspire
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01. Karlie Kloss
Karlie Kloss's homepage serves as a compelling testament to the notion that you can craft an exciting, bold brand while sticking to the basics.
For instance, the color palette is predominantly black and white with tiny pops of pink. It’s a clever branding trick: She uses the same pink dot in her logo and as a period at the end of headings. The same pink highlights the page links in the navigation bar whenever a visitor hovers over them.
Her subtle use of parallax effect is almost imperceptible but it gives the intended effect of making the site feel three-dimensional, as if it’s only giving you a peek at this dynamic entrepreneur’s work. It’s not a complicated effect to apply nor is it one that visitors haven’t seen before. Yet, when paired with an otherwise minimalist design, it really makes the content shine.
02. Danny Getz
Danny Getz makes a splash from the get-go with his original take on a splash page. At first, all you see is a photo of a woman and a small contact block on the right. Then, a few more photos fall into place on top of the original one, almost as if you’re flipping through a stack of prints. It’s a perfect example of how minimalist website design can actually offer the space to experiment without disrupting the user experience.
When you click the “Enter” button, a sidebar menu slides in from the right. With a small, right-aligned list of page links, it’s even more spartan in its design—yet its unconventional nature demonstrates Danny’s creativity. Similarly, the galleries that only show one to three photos at a time don’t feel empty—instead, they allow Danny’s work to shine.
Because the About and Contact pages don’t feature any visuals, Danny takes the opportunity to indulge in some typographic play. Sizing up his fonts so that the text takes up an entire fold, he can mix serif and sans-serif fonts, italics and bolding, underlining and outlining without creating accessibility issues.
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03. Conqr
The dark theme Conqr adopts for their online presence is one of the primary reasons we’ve named it one of the best websites in this category. Instead of surrounding their content with a ton of white negative space, the black background creates a striking effect.
What’s interesting about the homepage is how lightweight it is when it comes to imagery. The agency has loads of high-profile examples it could show off. However, there are only six portfolio photos and each only takes up about a third of the screen. This just goes to show you how minimalism forces designers to be more selective about what’s worth including and what will have the greatest impact on visitors.
Another standout minimalist feature is the hamburger menu icon at the top and the slide-in sidebar navigation. This is an easy enough feature to replicate, too. All you’d need is the Impressive Site Menu app to add and customize your own minimized menu.
04. Avec Clyde
The Avec Clyde brand centers around sustainable fashion, so it’s only natural that it would have a minimalist website. Because minimalist websites tend to feature only, well, the bare minimum, they often require less energy for both the server and the user’s device.
The understated color palette, delicate Futura font and naturalistic photography of this brick-and-mortar store website give it a quaint feel. But don't let that fool you; it's got all the functionality you need for shopping.
With Wix, shops like Avec Clyde can add modern eCommerce functionality to a minimalist design. That’s what minimalism is all about—streamlining and simplifying the design while giving users the functionality and features they need to shop with ease.
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05. Annie's Little Valley
While you might expect a baker’s website to feature ornate designs and sugary-sweet stylings, Annie’s Little Valley does the opposite. Her homepage features a modular-grid gallery of all her favorite projects, well-padded with white space—a central characteristic of minimalist website design.
What's interesting is that the chosen color palette matches the vintage-like filter applied to the cake photos. This consistent use of color and style adds a touch of nostalgia and charm to the website, enhancing the overall experience. In essence, Annie's Little Valley demonstrates that sometimes, less is more when it comes to web design.
06. Max Montgomery
If we want to capture the essence of minimalist web design, we can sum it up with a simple mantra: Keep It Simple, Silly—or KISS for short. As evidenced by Max Montgomery's photography website, this principle doesn't equate to dullness. On the contrary, the design is almost rebellious in its simplicity, speaking volumes with only a few elements: the name, a copyright line, navigation and an email link.
The celeb-filled masonry gallery stretches across the page and bleeds into the margins. Max’s name—which sprawls across the header in big, bold letters—does the same.
If you take anything away from this minimalist website design example, it should be that typography is a powerful tool. Max used the Syne font family for the bits of text strewn across his site (just the copyright line, the navigation, his name and email). This typeface is clear, even at small sizes, but it doesn’t lack character. Its slightly rounded corners and odd letterforms (like the arrow-shaped G or the slightly stretched R) is perfect for Max’s brand of subtle flair.
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07. V-Labs
The goal of minimalism is to strip out the excesses that often plague websites. V-Labs achieves that by limiting its site to a single page with an abundance of white space.
The one-page site tackles everything prospective users need to know about the company: its mission, the products it makes and how to get in touch. If someone wants to learn more, they can visit the product websites or fill out the single-field subscription form.
What we like about this minimalist website example is that it’s not colorless nor is it lacking in personality. Instead, V-Labs uses funky colors, a modern geometric font and subtle animations to keep things interesting.
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08. The Five Fields
Take a look at The Five Fields menu, and you’ll see that the restaurant strips their dishes down to the essence, acknowledging the beaty of each ingredient, to award-winning effect. They took the same approach to their restaurant design, allowing their menus and a handful of images to speak for themselves. The one point of excess is the full-width video on the homepage, which captures the teams careful efforts and attention to detail.
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09. Hannah Malach
The best way to make people remember you? Give them your elevator pitch. Hannah Malach’s homepage is empty but for a line of purple text: “Hannah Malach is a writer specializing in arts and culture.” In doing so, she gives you one thing to remember and one thing only.
By distilling her identity down to this concise statement, Hannah accomplishes a crucial feat in personal branding. She offers visitors a clear and easily digestible message that resonates, leaving them with a singular and unmistakable impression of her expertise. In a world filled with information overload, this minimalist approach ensures that Hannah's unique specialization in arts and culture is the one thing you won't forget.
10. Objective
If you’re looking for a way to make your luxury shop or website look classy, Objective’s eCommerce website design examples is a good example to check out.
For starters, they’ve nailed the use of color. While there’s a bit more variety compared to the average minimalist site, the neutral color palette complements the product photography rather than stealing the spotlight.
Objective’s product pages are quintessentially minimalist with wide-open white space and nothing but the essentials above the fold: the name of the product, the price, the imagery and the “Add to cart” feature. This makes it easier to focus on the more important details without the distractions of the description and other specifications getting in the way.
Miranda Sofroniou has what I’d call a cute website. It all starts with her vibrant illustrations, adorable book covers and hand-drawn patterns that cover the pages of the site.
Minimalism isn't just about stripping things down to the basics; it's about deliberate and purposeful design choices that serve the brand's goals and the user's experience. To that point, it would be antithetical to Miranda Sofroniou’s playful brand if her website was totally ascetic. Still, she reigns in her curiosity and artistic instinct to play with color because it would’ve made her portfolio overwhelming. Her illustrations are vibrant and maximalist—employing a minimalist design approach allows them to shine.
She allows herself some creative choices, like her hand-written name in the header and the shadow effect on the books she illustrated. She also adds a green overlay hover effect on the patterns page which plays nicely into the natural theme of many of her drawings.
12. Valeria Monis
As you can imagine, when you’re selling handmade ceramics adorned with drawings of Russian criminal tattoos, you’re not going to want anything to distract from them. That's why the generous margins flanking every page on Valeria Monis' website were a wise choice. They ensure that the visitors' gaze is firmly fixed on the captivating products.
That’s not the only reason why Valeria Monis’s style of minimalism works so well. Take a look at the typography, for example. The thin Proxima Nova font and indigo coloring weren’t arbitrary. They align seamlessly with the collection design, creating a harmonious and engaging experience.
13. Zaria Forman
Zaria Forman’s artwork is showstopping, so it’s no surprise that her site is, too. Opening up on a fullscreen photo of Zaria working on one of her paintings, the homepage is so striking that visitors may take a few moments to navigate elsewhere.
Every page is different, but one motif echoes throughout: She frames her work in surprisingly small, uniform rectangles. It’s an unconventional choice and, in other circumstances, may have even been a bad one. But with work as striking as hers, you don’t want them to blend together—you want to insight people’s curiosity and click through so they can see each one take up the fullscreen.
Yet another odd but clever choice, Forman leaves massive amounts of white space at the bottom of several pages. It’s almost as if she’s trying to create a visual pause to get her visitors to consider the weight of climate change (which is what her drawings are all about).
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What is minimalist website design
Minimalist design is simple and clutter-free. In order to achieve this, designers stick with the basics and remove any elements that aren’t critical to the function or experience of the website.
Minimalist websites tend to be characterized by the following:
Plain backgrounds
Ample white space
Two or three fonts maximum
Bold typography choices
Color palette with three colors or less
Strong visual hierarchy
Short pages
Essential features and elements only
Limited use of imagery
There are no hard and fast rules about what qualifies as a minimalist design. So while you may find a lot of these characteristics on the websites above, you might not find all of them.
Minimalism has to do with the content included in the interface, not with minimizing the site itself. That’s why you’ll find minimalist website design used on all types of websites. From small blogs to giant eCommerce shops, some of the best websites follow minimalistic principles.
Why is minimalism useful in web design?
There are many advantages to building minimalist websites. For example, lightweight and clutter-free designs tend to be:
Faster than websites overloaded with content
Aesthetically pleasing to most users
More impactful, as interactive elements and animations stand out better
Easier to navigate and use
More mobile-friendly since you don’t have to remove or shuffle around extra content that fits on larger screens.
While not every website built today is minimalist, it makes sense why so many lean towards this style. With so many distractions competing for your users’ attention, minimalism is an effective way to create comfortable, enjoyable and engaging user experiences. It also generally leads to more aesthetically pleasing websites, which will allow you to appeal to a broader audience.
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How do I create a minimalist website?
To create a minimalist website, focus on clean design and simplicity as a priority. Choose a monochromatic color scheme with limited hues and use ample white space. Opt for a simple, easy-to-read font as well. Then streamline navigation with a clear menu and concise content. Limit visual elements to essential images and icons, ensuring they complement the overall aesthetic. Choose minimalist template on website builders like Wix, or custom code with HTML and CSS with Wix Studio.
Minimalist website vs simple website
While minimalist and simple websites share common traits, they differ in emphasis. A minimalist website prioritizes intentional design with only essential elements, using ample white space, limited colors and a focus on functionality. Simple websites, while avoiding unnecessary complexity, may still incorporate more design elements and features than minimalist ones. The simplicity of a website refers to the ease of use and straightforward navigation, while minimalism extends to aesthetics and design, emphasizing a deliberate and intentional reduction of visual elements. Both approaches aim for clarity but minimalist design often involves a more pronounced commitment to stripping away non-essential elements for a streamlined and intentional user experience.