Yes, you read it right. Websites have personalities, just like people.

There are millions of websites out there and they all follow different web design rules. Each website has something different to offer than the next one. Yet, we can sort all of them into different categories, for example, eCommerce websites, personal websites, portfolio websites, small business websites etc. Similarly, websites can be sorted to have different personality traits as well.

If you observe different websites, you will notice a design pattern that forms around the websites’ brand identity, or in simpler words, what these websites intend to communicate with the users. Some companies show care and empathy towards the audience, some emphasize elegance and style, some websites are playful and fun, while some convey professionalism and seriousness. These are what we call website personalities.

By analysing the web design rules and design decisions implemented on a website, we can sort all websites into seven different personalities:

  1. Serious/Elegant
  2. Minimalist/Simple
  3. Plain/Neutral
  4. Bold/Confident
  5. Calm/Peaceful
  6. Startup/Upbeat
  7. Playful/Fun

Now let’s check out some interesting facts about these website personalities.

Serious/Elegant Personality

Websites with this type of personality follow a classy website design that transmits luxury and elegance to the visitors. Web page design with thin serif-typefaces, golden or pastel colours and large-high-quality images are some of the common design characteristics of this personality type. The use of unusual/experimental layouts is also commonly seen.

What type of businesses use this website personality?
Websites with these personality traits are best suited for businesses that provide expensive and elegant products and services. It’s accommodated to provide visitors with a premium experience and invoke a sense of luxury. We recommend this website personality for the following businesses –

  1. Real estate
  2. High fashion
  3. Jewellery
  4. Luxury brands and services.

Now let’s take a look at some examples –

66 Saint Paul’s Malta and MAArchitects are two websites that we designed and developed with elegant and classy website design personalities. Some other excellent examples are Rino & Pelle, Chateau Versailles, Fetching Fields etc.

Minimalist/Simple Personality

Minimalist/simple personality is commonly used for fashion or portfolios of any kind. Also, companies that have a minimalist theme in their products, such as one of our clients Teenvoice, use a minimalist personality. With a sole focus on essential items only, this type usually uses no icons to very small icons, a limited number of colours and small body texts.

Suitable industries are: 

  1. Fashion
  2. Portfolios
  3. Minimalism companies
  4. Tech startups

Tal Karmu Constructions and Quinel websites are two of our projects where we took a somewhat minimalistic website design approach. To see more examples, you can also visit Exyte and Clippings.

Plain/Neutral Personality

Well established corporations such as Google, Microsoft, IBM etc. who don’t want to make an impact through design usually choose to use this website personality type. Although the website design can seem a bit dull or boring, it serves very well to the companies’ purposes. Here the design gets out of the way using a very simple, condensed layout with a neutral and small typeface.

To check out some of our own design and developed websites that follow a neutral personality, visit Apco Tech, Vertibus and 66 Saint Paul’s Malta.

Bold/Confident Personality

This is a personality type that makes an impact with its design. By featuring big and bold typography paired with confident use of big and colourful blocks, it shows that the company is courageous, brave and not afraid to take risks. It simply sends a strong message to the visitors.

Some of the businesses that frequently use this personality are –

  1. Digital agencies
  2. Software startups
  3. Travels 
  4. Sports etc.

Apcopay, Family Trading and Medilink International are some of the websites that follow the bold/confident personality.

Calm/Peaceful Personality

Generally used in healthcare, this personality type is a good fit for businesses that mainly focus on consumer well-being. It’s basically for brands that want to transmit to the users that they care about them a lot. The use of calming pastel colours and soft serif typefaces are commonly seen in this personality type. Also, the textual content is usually very focused on the wellness of the consumer, paired with positive and motivational messages and illustrations.

Vertibus, Laferla, and Hydrolectric are some of the websites that match this personality type.

Startup/Upbeat Personality

If you use a lot of technology websites, chances are that you have come across this website personality probably the most. Used a lot by software startups, this startup website personality is for companies that simply want to transmit a modern-looking image to their customers. 3D illustrations and patterns are often seen in this type. 

Check out our case study for Imagina Gaming, a beautifully illustrated website that transmits a modern and upbeat vibe to the users. Evenio, a registration system software designed and developed by us, also exudes a similar upbeat vibe. Stripe and Grammarly are some of the companies that feature the startup website personality as well.

Playful/Fun Personality 

Designs that implement this personality are usually employed by companies that are related to products for children, animals or foods. Sometimes serious businesses such as financial companies also implement this personality to ooze friendliness to the users. This type is fueled by creative elements like hand-drawn icons and illustrations, animations and fun textual messages. The use of multiple bright colours and hand-written fonts are also seen quite commonly. 

Teenvoice, Imagina Gaming, Lotto Hero are some of the websites where we implemented playful/fun personalities.

Other

While the concept of website personality accurately categorises the web design traits into certain types, there are no rules set in stone when it comes to design and creativity. Often time web designers gather ideas and inspirations from different places and put them together to come up with something new and fresh. That’s why every design decision doesn’t need to follow the rules of the intended website personality.

The amalgamation of more than one personality type into one is also quite commonly seen in web design. Some suggested combinations are – Playful + Boldness, Minimalist + Peaceful, Elegant + Peaceful, and Bold + Startup.

So which website personality is for you? Now that you’re familiar with these personality types, it will be much easier to choose what fits best for you or your business