✍️ Website Design Inspired by George Orwell - When it comes to web design, be like George

My son shared an essay by George Orwell that he was assigned in his AP English class. We're both fans of Orwell, so he asked me to read it. His writings, like 1984, may be more relevant today than when he first published them. The essay Politics and the English Language urges people to use clear and precise language. Those that do not are either incompetent or have an agenda other than to convey meaning.

Here's an excerpt:
"The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. This mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing. As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house."

Regardless of your political persuasion, I think we agree that we hear a lot of nonsense spoken from politicians on all sides. So what does this have to do with web design? Reading this article, I was reminded of how I try to take a simple approach to designing websites. My clients urge me to add design elements, colors, animations, fonts and videos. Those are legitimate requests, as long as they help to clearly convey the purpose of the website. 

The key question is "what do you want people to do" when they visit your site. The purpose of your website is not for people to watch a video. It's to sell them something, or get them to contact you, or some other action you must define. If watching a video gets people to that point, then it can be added. If not, leave it off. The same goes for all the other bells and whistles. Note that I am referring to the design of websites for business.

So when it comes to web design, cut out the doublespeak and make your site doubleplusgood!