Hey friend,
The 30% OFF Black Friday sale is officially live:
All plugins + Annual Code Curious Membership — now through Dec 5.
Use discount codes:
BLACKFRIDAY30 → 30% off all plugins
ANNUAL30 → 30% off an annual Code Curious membership*
But instead of just throwing coupons at you, I’m doing something more fun...
Welcome to Day 1 of Will’s Design Opinions.
Over the next two weeks, I’m going to share six of my somewhat-strongly-held design opinions that I genuinely believe will make your website clearer, more engaging, and more intentional.
These opinions are part of the lens I use when I’m designing plugins and reviewing client sites. When a design opinion keeps proving itself over and over again, it usually makes it way into a plugin.
As we go, I’ll point to the plugins that grew out of some these opinions so that you can quickly and easily apply the concept on your own site.
At the center of all of this is one core belief:
The goal of a website isn’t to “wow” people. The goal is to guide them.
Most websites don’t fail because they’re ugly. They fail because they’re confusing, and confusion almost always comes from too many unneeded features, unnecessary animations, and too little intention.
A good website doesn’t need to impress people.
A good website needs to make sense and move a visitor forward comfortably.
Let’s start with something that sounds small, but changes everything.
Opinion #1: Break the vertical stack
Horizontal Scrolling is all the rage these days.
Websites are naturally designed to scroll up and down, and that predictability is a good thing because it reduces the mental load on the visitor and allows them to move through content without friction.
But when everything on the page moves in the same direction, at the same pace, and with the same rhythm, pages can start to feel long, flat, and visually repetitive, which makes it harder for any specific section to stand out or feel important. Horizontal scrolling can make a section feel important.
The goal of vertical scrolling isn’t to impress people, though. It’s to direct their attention in a specific moment.
Don’t overdo this though, that’s chaos. In my opinion, an otherwise normal page the scrolls horizontally is dizzying. But a well-placed horizontal scroll, where the story actually needs a change in energy or emphasis, is helpful.
This is what led me to build the Horizontal Scrolling Section. Not as a novelty, but as a controlled way to guide attention with purpose.
Horizontal Scrolling Sections
(Free for Members / 30% off for everyone else)
Perfect for:
Galleries
Storytelling layouts
Before / after moments
Featured portfolio pieces
You can also do this in other ways with Section Slider and Collection Carousel.
Just be sure not to overuse them! Horizontal movement is best when doesn’t scream for attention… it just provides that nice *pop* where you need it.
Get it 30% OFF (BLACKFRIDAY30)
Or grab the 30% OFF Annual Code Curious Membership and access it free (ANNUAL30)
Stay tuned for tomorrow's opinion: Don’t fight trends — tweak them.
Keep building,
Will
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