A few years ago I researched minimal web design, looking at websites with very few, if any, graphics. This lead me to discover websites that were text only. After visiting only two or three such websites, or with CSS switched off in Firefox, I realised I preferred this simplicity. I decided to pretend it was the 1990s and did a version of my website with html only - no css, javascript, or php.

My website is only to list the music for classical ensembles that I write and musicians may want to perform. It is like the booklet catalogues music publishers used to print before extensive use of the internet. However now just about every musician in my field uses Wordpress. While some professional programmers state blatantly their website has no css, I am worried that musicians who visit my site will think it's lack of technical knowledge - not design.

My question: would you go with what you believe in, or follow the old advice that 'most people spend time on websites that are not yours, so you have to fit in with what the visitor is used to'?

Edited August 29, 20242 yr by ianstewart

There is no single answer to your question. It all depends on the target, purpose and expected outcome of the site (along with your marketing plan).

I've got two plain HTML/CSS sites that still do very well but the rest need some PHP/JS to get the necessary functionality.

The general rule is: build your site for your visitors. It doesn't matter what you like, it only matters that the needs of your visitors are met.

Having zero CSS does work but it often makes for a very boring site. In your case however it might work if it's just a list but a little bit of colour and some padding/margins can make a huge difference. And consider also that to be properly responsive you need to adjust the font size and other default settings. Which means adding CSS.

I can't imagine ANY professional programmer building anything without any CSS. That's just bonkers.

And using wordpress or any other CMS just makes your life so much simpler. It can still be minimalist but managing the site is far easier than hand coding everything.

Thank you for your reply, a good summary which has help me think through my ideas. Websites I like the look of are:

https://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

https://cloudiums.pages.dev/

(although the deprecated html center tag is used)

https://www.sn0wlink.com/

I have got the reputation of being left-field (one Russian pianist put in is concert biography that I was a "cult composer" - which I liked). Also it is not a normal sales site: it is recommend by other musicians, or they do a search for particular groups of instruments.

 

 

Edited August 29, 20242 yr by ianstewart

If it works for your target users then take this path.

Much like you I like decluttered pages but a little bit of CSS can make a big difference:

https://arxiv.org/

https://schema.org/docs/schemas.html