The Case for Standardizing Website Design
People complain that websites look the same. They see the same navigation bars, grids, and buttons everywhere.
They are right. But this is a good thing.
A website is a tool. It is not a painting or a mood board. People visit sites to read, buy, search, or solve problems. When people want to finish a task, originality is not the goal.
Jakob's Law explains this. Users spend most of their time on other sites. They prefer your site to work like the sites they already know.
Users bring expectations to your site. They expect:
- The logo to link to the home page.
- Navigation to be at the top or side.
- Search bars to look like search bars.
- Account settings to live under a profile menu.
When you follow these patterns, users spend energy on their tasks instead of your interface. Good design reduces mental effort. It does not force people to relearn how to click a button.
A common mistake is thinking uniqueness equals quality. A site can look unique but be hard to use. It can win design awards while frustrating real people.
Novelty has a cost. Every strange menu or hidden interaction forces a user to stop and think.
If you build an art project or a game, be original. The interface is the message. But most websites are software. Software needs conventions. Nobody wants a text editor that invents a new way to save a file.
The web has changed. In the past, websites were digital brochures. They were for marketing and brand expression.
Today, websites are applications. We use them for banking, email, and project management. These tools should behave like software.
When sites share patterns, users get faster. They know where to look and what to click. Predictability builds confidence.
Standard layouts are respectful. They tell the user, "You already know how this works."
Responsive design also pushes us toward these patterns. A site must work on phones, tablets, and desktops. Patterns like cards and grids work well because they scale across all screens. A unique design that looks great on a desktop often breaks on a phone.
Designers often get bored with patterns. We look at websites as objects. Users look at websites as tools. For a user, familiarity means fewer mistakes and less frustration.
The web has grown up. Websites are now workspaces and stores. Applications should be predictable.
Websites look the same because they work. Users do not want a new adventure every time they open a tab. They just want the tool to work.
Source: https://dev.to/headzoo/the-case-for-standardizing-the-design-of-websites-e95