The Art of Simplicity

There’s a common misconception about what makes a good programmer. Some people think that being able to write thousands of lines of very complex code makes you a good programmer.

They are wrong. Being able to accomplish very complex things with a few simple lines of code makes you a good programmer.

Doing something complex in a simple, efficient way is called elegance. Elegant programs run faster and are easier for other programmers to read and decipher. They can be clever, but more often they are simply smart.

To keep this idea in mind, many programmers keep the term K.I.S.S. by their monitors, and more need to. Keep It Simple, Stupid. This is a reminder that, just because you CAN do something complicated rarely means you should.

This is an idea that translates well for the good programmer who wants to design good user interfaces. There’s a reason one of the most popular web usability books, Don’t Make Me Think. It’s all about the art of simplification and giving the user exactly what they need, no more, no less.

Writing good copy for your website (or for anything else) follows the same principle. A far better and more detailed explanation of how to write, think, and learn better (and how all of those things relate) can be found here.

This is especially true with writing documentation. Write exactly what you need to get the job done, no more, no less. Make your websites and web applications steps obvious to the point of not needing more than a few words of instruction. Make them elegant.

Simplicity is a challenge, more of a challenge than complexity, but it’s a key to success that most people never get.