Why Originality Matters in Web Design

Visit ten websites from ten different companies and you’ll see almost the same thing: a big headline on the left, a photo on the right, three columns of benefits and a button that says “Get started”. It’s no accident: templates, design kits and now AI all pull everything toward the average.

Nobody remembers the average

A correct but generic design does its job: it’s readable, clear and inoffensive. The problem is that it leaves nothing behind. If someone visits your site and your competitor’s on the same day, what makes them remember yours that night? It’s rarely the copy; it’s almost always a feeling, a detail, something they didn’t expect.

Originality isn’t doing just anything

Being original doesn’t mean breaking every rule or sacrificing usability. It means starting from who you are and what you do, instead of from what everyone else does. An architecture studio can have a site you explore like a floor plan; a restaurant, a menu that feels like sitting at the table. Readability and accessibility still apply: originality is built on top of them, not against them.

A close example

My own portfolio opens with a 3D journey from a galaxy down to my desk, and the content lives inside a screen in that room. Was it necessary? To show projects, no. But most people who visit write to me about that, not about the list of technologies. Originality did the introducing for me.

Where to start

Before opening a template, ask three questions: what does my brand have that nobody else has? How do people feel when they work with me? How could the site convey that without words? The answers are usually the starting point of a design that looks like no other.

In a world where everything looks alike, being different is the most profitable strategy.

Source of inspiration: Why Do Websites Look the Same (And Should We Care)? (Webdesigner Depot, 2020) – https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2020/07/why-do-websites-look-the-same-and-should-we-care