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Is it because websites are converging on what boosts search rank? Or maybe there is a consolidation in the frameworks used to build web sites? Perhaps users gravitate to using sites whose layouts are "familiar"?
Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar:
Over the past few years, articles and blog posts have started to ask some version of the same question: "Why are all websites starting to look the same?"
These posts usually point out some common design elements, from large images with superimposed text, to hamburger menus, which are those three horizontal lines that, when clicked, reveal a list of page options to choose from.
My colleagues Bardia Doosti, David Crandall, Norman Su and I were studying the history of the web when we started to notice these posts cropping up. None of the authors had done any sort of empirical study, though. It was more of a hunch they had.
We decided to investigate the claim to see if there were any truth to the notion that websites are starting to look the same and, if so, explore why this has been happening. So we ran a series of data mining studies that scrutinized nearly 200,000 images across 10,000 websites.
[...] This outsize power is part a larger story of consolidation in the tech industry—one that certainly could be a cause for concern. We believe aesthetic consolidation should be critically examined as well.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Thursday May 14 2020, @02:48PM (2 children)
Cars are starting to look similar! The Model T was a real challenge to drive, but today all cars sold in a country have the steering wheel on the same side, the pedals are in the same order, the gauges use the same icons, and gasoline goes in the same place.
Now, please post with all of the exceptions. My point stands: even comparing an electric car against a standard transmission truck have more similarities than a Model T and the competition at the time. Early cars were inventing all of the human interfaces on the vehicle, and it would take time for the interfaces to become standardized, either de-facto or through SAE.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 14 2020, @03:23PM (1 child)
I saw this happen with the Hyundai Getz. I quite liked its predecessor. Then the others started to copy the Getz. A whole generation of cars that were clones. Crap design mind you.
I went in to a dealer looking for a new car. They had none, but don't worry the Getz is coming. Yeesh. I ended up buying a second hand car.
Yes, once I set my sites on a specific car I hold to it. Sue me.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 14 2020, @04:19PM
Cool story bro. Tell us another.