Website Classic Design: 15 Ideas for 2024

You must know at least one guy who likes to flex his muscles by posting selfies on social media. Just like that, web designers can flex their skills by putting too much into a single page. The only problem with this practice is that it floods the website with potentially unnecessary elements & adds nothing of value to the client.

These additions and extra-creative touches may ruin the end user’s overall experience with the website. This means more money designing & coding the website vs. less engagement and lower ROI.

That’s why it is usually best to create website designs that deliver impactful qualities, yet follow a minimalistic approach. I mean, if you can manage to do more with less, then why go the extra mile?

The solution to creating minimalistic websites lies hidden in “classic design,” and that’s what we will discuss today!

Note: In certain cases, a company’s website may have to be super creative and deliver crazy features to impress clients; think IT agencies and cybersecurity firms.

What is a classic web design?

The word “Classic” has grown a cultural connotation where it means either old but gold and/or something that does the job with no more & no less. If we go by that logic, it would mean that a classic design doesn’t contain any new and modern visual complexities.

In reality, a classic design takes all the complexities and represents them in an easy-to-understand manner. This way, a classic design puts the spotlight away from the style and toward the content and the action in mind.

In a sense, classic design is all about pulling off simplicity correctly. And the only way to do that is to understand a complex issue and then strip it down to basic structure.

John Maeda has defined this concept in his book, “Laws of Simplicity.” According to John, Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaning.

We believe that’s the essence of classic design, no matter where it is used, including web design, car manufacturing, phone production, etc.

In classic website design, the emphasis is on the information rather than on flashy animations and graphics. In addition, the website structure is also designed to ensure that users can easily navigate and find the information they are looking for!

Advantages of classic design in websites

What makes classic design such a good idea for websites? Let’s take a quick look:

Easy to use

It is important for websites to be updated from time to time. However, it also makes it difficult for users to embrace change after a website redesign.

That’s why whenever a website changes its looks completely after a redesign, it can take some time for users to get used to the new changes. In fact, a complete change in the design can also make the users leave the website because they can’t find the information they are looking for!

On the other hand, the classic design introduces change by following the evolutionary route than revolution (changing everything).

A classic example of this can be found in Amazon and Google. If you look at how Google’s homepage and search results looked a decade ago, and today, you will notice that the basic structure is still the same with just enough MVPs. Despite keeping the familiar design elements, Google has introduced a lot of changes to its homepage and search results.

This ensures that the website remains easy to use without any revolutionary changes that reinvent everything.

Cost-effective

Another advantage of classic web design is that it is much more cost-effective than complex designs that involve multimedia elements, flashy animations, etc.

If you think about it, a web design firm will have to put more hours into creating complex designs. Similarly, the costs of getting custom animations and multimedia elements will also need to be considered.

Simplicity

A simple layout is the hallmark of a classic web design. This means the website is not cluttered with any unnecessary features or distractions that can take attention away from the content.

This simple design promotes user-friendly navigation and makes it easy for visitors to interact with the website.

Fast loading speed

As classic web design emphasizes simplicity, it, by default, avoids the use of resource-intensive elements. The end result is a fast-loading website that helps in improving user experience & user retention.

In addition, a fast-loading website is also a key component of good on-page SEO! So, besides being good for the end-user, a fast-loading site is also good for search engine rankings.

Disadvantages of classic design in websites

Now, let’s take a quick look at some disadvantages of adopting the classic design approach for websites:

Limited customization

Classic web design relies on the use of familiar design elements and layouts. This can make it difficult to customize the website based on the new design trends.

In industries where it is important to stay updated with new trends, the use of classic design can prove to be a major disadvantage rather than a plus point.

Limited interactivity

If you are planning to make a highly interactive website with a lot of dynamic elements, then you will have to deconsider the classic design.

Limited visual appeal

Let’s face it; not everyone is a fan of simplicity and minimalistic looks! Some people look to keep things simple, and then there are some who prefer a more sophisticated and modern look!

The limited visual appeal and focus on simplicity can turn off the crowd which prefers the latest trends and a splash of colors.

15 classic website designs that can inspire you!

After reading through the list of pros & cons, I am sure you would have concluded whether you want a classic website design or not!

To help you get some ideas and inspiration, let’s look through 15 classic website designs that look great & continue to stand the test of time:

1. Google

The first example is the world’s #1 search engine “Google” which started in 1998. The homepage of Google is clutter free and keeps the user’s focus on the search bar. After all, Google is all about the search, and its homepage is doing that right!

The best part about Google’s homepage is that it has followed a similar layout throughout the years. It doesn’t matter if you look at Google’s homepage from 2002 or 2024; it looks very familiar.

But despite following a similar design structure, Google’s homepage looks modern and not outdated at all. That’s the part that makes Google such a good example of classic design.

2. MAKR

MAKR’s website sells a wide range of products, from leather accessories to furniture and even soft goods.

The homepage gives off a minimalistic vibe & keeps the user’s attention on the products. In fact, you wouldn’t even find a lot of text on the website, which takes the minimalistic approach to a whole new level.

The best thing about MAKR’s website is its ample use of white space and limited color palette. This ensures that the user pays more attention to the available products rather than flashy animations and design gimmicks.

3. Poet.art

Poet.art is an interesting website that showcases portraits made by A.I. based on famous quotes. The end result is a unique artwork that just blows the mind away!

The homepage showcases a fullscreen portrait above the fold with only a logo and a link to the About page in the header. As users scroll down, there’s a heading and a subheading followed by a gallery of portraits.

The website puts stunning portraits on a white background which works well since the main idea behind Poet.art is to showcase the portraits and the power of A.I.

Overall, the website design of Poet.art is very simple and only uses a black + white color combination.

4. Apple

Apple’s homepage is yet another example of classic design due to its minimalism and focuses on usability. The different elements on the homepage are designed in a simple traditional layout, yet another hallmark of the classic design.

Although Apple showcases a lot of graphics, all of them are the products offered by Apple. So in a sense, Apple is attracting users’ attention to its content!

The best part about Apple’s homepage is its adherence to classic web design while also giving a trendy and modern vibe.

5. Wikipedia

The next example on our list is Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia site that is loved by everyone. The design of the entire Wikipedia site is very straightforward and classic.

Similarly, the layout of Wikipedia’s design has stayed consistent over the years, yet another quality of classic design.

Wikipedia is all about its user-generated content, and that’s exactly what its website design also emphasizes. Also, there are no flashy graphics or silly animations to divert the user’s attention away from user-generated content.

The color scheme used on Wikipedia is a combination of blue and black on a white background only. This also makes it a prime example of classic design.

6. Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the go-to website for health-related information and medical expertise. The website uses a white background and a very simple layout.

The header portion contains the logo, search bar, and important links. This is followed by a navigation menu that contains links to the most frequented categories and pages.

The rest of the website doesn’t contain any unnecessary elements and presents health-related content in a clutter-free element.

In today’s environment, it can be hard to find websites such as Mayo Clinic which adhere to the classic design like this.

7. WebMD

WebMD is also a popular website that caters to the need of users looking for health-related content. Unlike Mayo Clinic, this website does include a few more images on each page, but all of them are relevant to the content.

That’s why we can say that WebMD also doesn’t include any unnecessary images that can clutter or slow down the website. Similarly, it also showcases black text on a white background, giving it simplicity and minimalism properties.

And last but not least, the entire website is designed with usability and accessibility in mind. This is achieved by a comprehensive navigation menu, a search bar, and a lot of internal links.

8. CNN

CNN is a US-based news outlet that covers everything from politics to business to health! The CNN website puts the spotlight on news stories with its white-on-black color combination & clutter-free approach.

Probably, the best part about the CNN website design is its minimalism. Other than the news article, there’s not much on the CNN pages which highlights its content-first approach. In fact, even the links use black color, which helps the website to stay true to its white background on the black text approach.

The layout adopted by CNN for its news pages is also very straightforward. A quick header section followed by a headline and the news content (text & images).

9. Craiglist

Craigslist was one of the first online classified websites & still continues to receive millions of visitors every day. Such a huge amount of traffic tells us people focus more on functionality than the latest design trends and useless gimmicks.

Upon visiting the Craiglist website, it appears as if you have opened a website straight from the 90s. The overall design is very simple and emphasizes text rather than images.

The Craiglist website also promotes usability and accessibility by showing all the available categories on the homepage. Even on the listings page, there are also numerous links that help the users navigate to more relevant content on the site.

10. Ted

Ted is an online platform that distributes speeches and talks from recognized global speakers. Ted’s slogan is “ideas worth spreading,” and the website has managed to pull it off with a classic design.

Staying true to its mission, Ted’s website uses a very simple layout that makes viewing videos easy. The homepage shows some of the popular and newest editions on the Ted website.

And when a particular video page is opened, the first thing that a user’s eye catches is the video. The Ted website includes a header, but it only takes a bit of space at the top. Users can view more relevant and useful content on the sidebar, promoting easy navigation.

Overall, the classic design of Ted’s website helps users gain valuable knowledge from the content rather than staring at flashy graphics.

11. Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com makes learning the meanings of words & definitions of English terms easy. Like all the other websites mentioned above, this one also uses a classic design that emphasizes language-related content.

Other than the advertisements, no clutter or distractions can divert the user’s attention away from learning English. There is also ample use of white space, which is further enhanced by an all-white background.

The font used on Dictionary.com is Arial (san-serif) which is considered a good font for text-heavy websites.

12. Archive.org

Archive.org is on a mission to archive digital history by taking snapshots of websites. From the inception of Google to its current design, users can see screenshots of how the website has looked through the years. Just like that, users can view the history of any website (including Canadian Digital Consulting).

Archive.org is another classic website design example due to its limited use of graphics, simple fonts, and a very simple layout.

Being a non-profit, Arhive.org also doesn’t contain any advertisements, which keeps 100% of the user’s attention towards the digital history of the web.

13. Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal website brings the latest from the markets, business, economy, and other categories. Despite covering a broad range of topics, the main focus of the Wall Street Journal is its financial news.

The overall design of Wall Street Journal uses classic black text on a white background combination that mimics the newspaper. This resemblance highlights the roots of the WSJ as a newspaper that’s still loved by millions around the globe.

The overall design of WSJ is very simple, with no distractions whatsoever. This allows the visitors to stay updated with the latest financial news rather than watching some silly animations.

The best part about the classic design of WSJ is its clever use of the sidebar that contains popular news from the site. This promotes user interaction and lowers the bounce rate.

14. Gutenberg

Gutenberg is a digital library that allows access to free books and digital text. The website’s sole purpose is to allow visitors to read or download books online.

As such, Gutenberg doesn’t require people to admire its latest trendy web design or to look at amazing design illustrations. That’s why Gutenberg also uses a classic design that’s simple and gets to the point without wasting any time.

The background and the white space on the Gutenberg are also ample, which promotes easy reading and easy access to the content.

15. eBay

eBay website has transformed over the years but still contains all the essential elements of classic design. From white background to a content-focused layout, eBay’s web design is all about usability and accessibility.

eBay is also a prime example of how websites can succeed even with a simple design without excessive graphics, micro-animations, and the latest design trends.

Conclusion

There’s a reason why the classic design has managed to pass the test of time from the 90s to today! The success and prevalence of classic design can be traced back to its properties of simplicity, ease of use, clarity, and a focus on functionality.

That’s not to say that you can’t adopt more modern design trends on the websites… Just like there’s a crowd that prefers the classic design, there are also people that want to see modern developments in design.

At the end of the day, adopting a classic or a modern design depends on your website’s audience.

Our web design team at Canadian Digital Consulting can help you determine whether you need a classic or modern design. Once that’s determined, we brainstorm and create the most aesthetically pleasing & functional design that helps your website stand out and succeed in today’s world.