Why your website should be boring

Most business websites do not fail because they look ordinary. They fail because a visitor cannot work out what the company does, who it is for, or what to do next.

A navigation bar that hides until you scroll up, a hero that animates for two seconds before the words arrive, a cursor that trails a blob of colour — each of these asks the visitor to learn something before they can read anything.

Familiar patterns are free

A logo top-left that returns to the home page. Navigation across the top. A search box shaped like a search box. These conventions cost nothing to use and everything to break, because they are already installed in every visitor's head.

Spend the novelty budget on the things that actually differentiate you: the clarity of your positioning, the quality of your work, the specificity of your case studies.

What boring does not mean

Boring is not ugly, and it is not lazy. A restrained interface makes typography, spacing and photography carry the personality — which is harder to do well, not easier.

• Strong type hierarchy, so scanning works

• Generous spacing, so nothing feels cramped

• One accent colour used sparingly, so it still means something

• Real photography or considered illustration, not stock gestures

The test

Show the home page to someone outside your industry for five seconds, then take it away. Ask them what the company does and who it is for. If they cannot answer, the design is in the way — however impressive it looked.