Simple Web Design: The ‘No Images’ Draft That Actually Converts

Everyone says they want simple web designs. Then they brief a carousel, three gradients, abstract shapes, and a brand film with soft‑focus office plants. That isn’t simple; that’s a costume. If the page only works when it’s dressed up, it doesn’t work.

My rule: write the page with no images first. Black text, white background, system font, one column. If it holds attention and gets the click in its underwear, you’ve got clarity. If it needs decoration to survive, you’ve got noise.

This is not anti‑visual. When imagery carries the argument, brilliant — add one image that does the job of ten. But start with nothing. It forces the order, the promise, and the proof to do the heavy lifting. It turns “simple web page designs” from a mood into a method.

Why ‘no images’ first in simple web design

Cuts the theatre. You can’t hide a weak offer behind stock photography or illustrations of people pointing at charts.

Exposes the argument. Headline, subhead, proof, objection, CTA. If any of those wobble, the page wobbles.

Saves time. You avoid polishing layouts that will be deleted once the message is clear.

Improves speed by default. A text‑first draft snaps into performance budgets. When you later add visuals, they have to earn their bytes.

Makes “simple web designs” measurable. Fewer decisions, fewer distractions, fewer requests. Simpler to parse and to build.

The page you must be able to sell with words alone

One viewport, five lines, one button.

1. Who it’s for. Name the audience in plain English. No metaphor, no coyness.
2. What changes. The result in the user’s language. Not “empower”, not “scale”.
3. How it happens. One sentence on the mechanism or angle.
4. Proof. A single number, reference, or outcome the audience respects.
5. Action. The next step and what happens after the click.

That’s it. If you can’t get a stranger to nod at that block, no amount of videography will rescue it.

The ‘No Images’ Draft: a short, ruthless workflow

Step 1 — Write the spine (10–15 mins).

• Headline that names the change.
• Subhead that explains how.
• One CTA that states the next step plainly.
• A single proof line. Specific > poetic.

Step 2 — Add the essentials (15–20 mins).

• Objection panel: answer the first doubt a rational buyer would have.
• Social proof block: one quote or 3 logos you have permission to use.
• Pricing path: a line that says where money happens (pricing page, demo, trial).
• Footer links for grown‑ups: Docs, Security, Changelog, Status.

Step 3 — Read it aloud.

If it sounds like something you’d say to a person, you’re close. If you’d be embarrassed to read it to a human, edit until you wouldn’t.

Step 4 — Ship a plain prototype.

Text‑only page in your builder. System font, default styles, no grid fireworks. Put it in front of 3 users or 1 brutally honest colleague. Fix the words before touching visuals.

Step 5 — Add one visual that carries the argument.

Choose one:

• A UI still that shows the promised result on real‑looking data.
• A metric card (a graph or single number with a label).
• A short clip (under 20 seconds) of the outcome, not the interface chrome. If your chosen image doesn’t make the copy feel inevitable, it’s the wrong image.

How to know your simple web design is actually simple

Simplicity is not white space and thin type. Simplicity is fewer decisions for the user.

• One goal per page. If you’re asking for two things, you’ll get neither.
• One route to the goal. A single primary CTA. Everything else is supportive or demoted.
• One argument per section. Headline makes the point; the paragraph earns it; the CTA invites the next step.
• One timeline. The page should read like cause → effect. If a section can move without breaking the story, it probably doesn’t belong.
• One speed budget. Words load instantly. Any visual must fit your byte limits. Parallax is a tax.

These are the boring rules that make simple web designs feel effortless.

Don’t panic: what to do when it feels too plain

• If the headline feels soft: replace adjectives with verbs and outcomes. “Faster onboarding” → “Cut onboarding from days to hours”.
• If the proof feels thin: borrow credibility you actually have (numbers, names, compliance, uptime). If you have none, say what you can promise now, not a fantasy.
• If the page feels short: add an objection, not a feature. “Will it work with X?” “What happens to my data?”
• If stakeholders want “more visual interest”: swap the chosen image, don’t add three. Or add micro‑explanations (captions) that do the heavy lifting.

What to avoid (and what to do instead)

• Avoid: abstract hero art that explains nothing.
  Do: a UI still that shows the thing your user wants to see.
  
• Avoid: stock faces pretending to be customers.
  Do: a pull‑quote with a specific outcome.
  
• Avoid: long autoplay videos.
  Do: a short clip with a caption that names the result.
  
• Avoid: carousels of everything.
  Do: one image that makes the copy feel inevitable.

Where images do earn their keep

• Demonstration: show the result (not every step).
• Clarification: remove ambiguity the copy can’t kill alone.
• Trust: an integration matrix or security badge with a link to the real thing.
• Momentum: a tight before/after for a single task.

If an image doesn’t serve one of those, it’s likely decor. Delete it. That’s how you keep simple web page designs simple.

A tiny checklist to run before you start art‑directing

• The page sells itself in words only (read aloud test)
• One goal, one route, one CTA
• First viewport = who it’s for, what changes, how it happens, proof, action
• One visual chosen to carry the argument; everything else deferred
• Docs/Security/Changelog in the nav; pricing path obvious
• Speed budget set; any image must fit it
• Someone owns edits; we update copy before we move pixels

Simple isn’t a style. Simple is a refusal — to add, to hedge, to decorate your way out of decisions. Start with the ‘no images’ draft and make the page win on words and order. Then add the one picture that makes the promise feel inevitable.

That’s how you get simple web designs that convert, without pretending simplicity is just more white space.