Enduring Web Designs

Focus on quality content

Focus on content design in priority over website chrome and let your content dominate what the viewer sees. Keep the visitor occupied on what they came for by making the design unnoticeable. Use great photography and typography.

Apple can be a cliche example, but Apple has always focused on rich content. There really isn’t any design chrome beyond typography and the menu.

Keep your layout and ornament simple.

If you can do without an element or decoration, take it out.

Traditional McDonald’s buildings are over-branded. The new designs focus on classic architecture and are very minimal in branding.

Avoid over-branding

Oversized logos, skeuomorphic decorations, over-designed buttons, colorful text, stylized illustrations and icons, etc. The branding itself has an expiration date.

Be cautious using popular design trends.

This can be really hard, especially when you want to impress a client with an “up-to-date” redesign. Trends will immediately set an expiration date to your design. Trends come and go every year, so stick to the basic elements of design that are hard to argue with like line, color, shape, and space.

“Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent.” -Joe Sparano

Learn from the past & plan for the future

Google’s Project Ara uses modular hardware to update parts of the phone individually. There is no need to throw away the whole phone if a piece breaks or becomes obsolete.



Here are a few brands striving to portray a classic web presence,

Conclusion 📓

Enduring web design is not characterized by the most beautiful or engaging in esthetics, but by minimal classic design elements. This discussion is focused on the goal of building an affordable and lasting web presence. Technology is always evolving, but there are systematic ways to make your design stand the test of time.

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