There's Nothing Sweet About How the Cookies Are Being Cut

Have you noticed how quite a few modern websites are all starting to look the same? Flashy images, hero designs, carousels, and scrolling graphics are increasingly being placed above the fold; at the same time, functionality seems to be taking a backseat to aesthetics, and this seems to be a trend triggered by the advent of HMTL5. Even when you have one-page websites, the headers seem to be getting all the attention while the rest of the page offers limited value to visitors as they scroll down.

Going "all in" on the header is a practice that dates back to the newsprint era, but what we are seeing in website design is a bit different and somewhat unfortunate. First of all, we cannot ignore the fact that we are operating in a template world, and this is what decision makers look at. On one hand, web developers are creating amazing apps, but designers are being tasked with using popular templates, which happen to be header-heavy, and ordered to make some modifications. This explains the cookie-cutter look across so many websites; then we have the issue of advice that is not assimilated correctly or taken without a grain of salt.

Not many web designers get to be decision makers. We can safely say that the majority of designers and developers simply follow orders from those who sign their paychecks, and this is where we can trace a particular problem to. To a great extent, we can blame an abundance of digital information and opinion.

Let's say the owner of a retail chain of footwear looks at the competition and decides that is exactly how her website should be designed. She then learns about Google's Material Design guidelines from a Forbes and Medium article, thus deciding to apply this style to her websites even though it clashes with her established logo and visual branding. If this is a rational business owner, she will likely consult with designers and get their opinion on templates and Material Design. Unfortunately, this has become more of an exception, and we are seeing designers fall lower down the totem pole. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/fizh27/why_do_most_modern_websites_put_bling_above/.