Website Minimalism
The most important task of a website is to provide information in the best and fastest way possible. After that, there's a long gap, and as long as there's nothing, one should question whether anything more is even necessary.
Knowing full well what the GDPR entails in terms of data protection, and also wanting to simplify and slow down my life as a webmaster, I have done a major clean-up. This means my websites are simply informational pages that have to function without a database, without complicated programming, and therefore without a CMS. If you don't absolutely need something, then you don't have to own it and bother with it.
What was changed?
- All WordPress blogs were deleted and replaced by a very simple, self-programmed HTML / PHP system without a database.
- Only the best and most relevant articles were included.
- All social media buttons have been omitted.
- I deleted Google Analytics because it's a time waster.
- Unnecessary advertising banners removed.
- No comment function.
These are the advantages!
- No system update for WordPress, and therefore no repair if the update fails.
- No backups for automatically created databases and web space content.
- No time wasted on comments and spam.
- Faster loading times.
- You can work wonderfully offline.
You have less to worry about because there's much less to consider. A significant amount of time is saved on unnecessary tasks and distractions. Yet you can still publish your texts / message and focus more easily on the essentials of a website – good content. The positive "aha!" moment here is that the same content, without a WordPress CMS, attracts approximately three times the number of visitors – with less effort.
Conclusion:
Successfully optimize website and yourself through simple and logical downsizing.
Infographic: Advantages of minimalism in websites. Translation for Infographic: Verfügbare Zeit = Avilabale time, Erfolg = Success, Aufwand = Expense.
Read the article in German: Website Minimalismus.