I cannot count how many times I've encountered websites with horrible designs reminiscent of Web 1.0. MySpace and Friendster comes to mind. The ability of users to customize their own pages created a slew of disgusting websites from a visitor's point of view. Ill-contrasted background and foreground colors, music in the website, and glitters are just among the features I usually see.
This is actually one of the reason why I myself shifted to Facebook early on. At least things there were a little bit uniform and clean. Say goodbye to glitters and instant booms of music when visiting somebody else's website!
That said, I think I can conclude that simpler websites are better than those with heavy media. Of course there are a few exceptions when media is utilized carefully, but for the most part, simpler websites are superior both technically and aesthetically. For one, well, remember that Google sports a simple look to make it look more credible.
From a techical viewpoint, simpler websites are better because, first and foremost, load times are much faster with simple websites. The absence of media allows a user to see a webpage immediately. We cannot always assume that our viewers are on broadband because much of the world do not even have an Internet connection, while most of those who are connected are still on dial-up.
Simpler websites are also typically easier to build, which translates to more productivity for your designers. They also require less server disk space and bandwidth, which means less operational costs for you. Best of all, compatibility issues across browsers are also more easily addressed. That has always been a stubborn issue for designers, but this can be easily avoided with simpler websites.
Despite this, however, designing a simple website may not be as easy as it sounds. It is important that you have a clear a vision of the message that you want to send out, for it is the tendency of most to fill a webpage with as much as elements as possible. With this clear vision, a simple-yet-striking website design should be achieved.
