Occam’s razor is a principle of economy or a principle of concision. A website creation process includes many tasks and sometimes we face some problems, then we must narrow them down, for the reason of time , budget or any other reason and here the Occam’s razor principle could be very helpful. It is an intellectual tool, simplistically it can be explained as: the best solution is the simplest one. So, are you ready to shave your website?
A bit of history
Occam’s razor is attributed to monk and logician William of Ockham who lived in the English county of Surrey in the 14th century. Nevertheless, many other philosophers mentioned similar principles in their works in earlier centuries, but it is still contributed to Occam likely because he was a big follower of this principle and used it frequently and effectively.
Everything must have its own purpose
The Occam’s razor principle isn’t a scientifically based law, it rather refers to an observation and guiding rule, however we can use this principle in web design, where praxis shows that the best solution is a simple solution. Basically we have to specify only two questions:
- What is the minimum task a website should perform?
- What is the maximum task a website should perform?
After we have answered these two questions we should cut unnecessary odds and ends, simplifying the website up to the point where it fulfils its role. That is where the Occam’s razor principle could be very helpful.
Minimalism is not the end
Pursuing minimalism in web design on a website is likely to remain unnoticed. To avoid this issue it is very important to have a personal touch to your website. Nowadays the website needs to be highly memorable. Here comes another definition: memorability. Memorability is a measure of how easy a website is to remember and how easy the user can perform tasks.
The last meaningful thought
So, Occam’s razor is a very useful and interesting principle in web design and design in general. Using this principle on a regular basis in your daily work allows us to see things in a different perspective and shave down all the unnecessary bells and whistles, remove clutter and clean up the place to reveal the real face of the website. It is very essential to remember that everything in a website has to have its own purpose. But on the other side of this, it must not be forgotten to keep a balance between simplicity and memorability, because memorability is the charisma of a website. A minimalist design is only the means it is not the aim. So, go ahead!