The Sea of Sameness

Author: Daina Reed Category: Brand & Design URL: https://hunterandbard.com/resources/blog/the-sea-of-sameness

Summary

Why B2B SaaS sites all look the same, and what the brave ones are doing differently.

TL;DR

Category fit helps buyers orient, but when every B2B SaaS site uses the same dark backgrounds, purple glows, and floating dashboards, those signals stop helping. Most sameness is not a design problem. It is a positioning problem that shows up in design.

Full Article

Key Takeaways

• The Von Restorff effect shows that when everything in a group looks the same, nothing gets remembered. Most B2B SaaS websites trigger this problem.
• Category prototypicality builds initial trust, but copying the category aesthetic wholesale kills buyer recall and differentiation.
• The sea of sameness is not a design problem. It is a positioning problem that surfaces in design when strategy is not sharp enough.
• Effective B2B websites keep familiar cues for orientation but make sharper visual and messaging choices that belong to one company, not an entire category.
• Enterprise buyers comparing vendors need clarity and specificity, not more visual theater or generic transformation headlines.

Dark background. Blue or purple glow. A product screenshot floating in space. Grid lines behind the hero. A row of light gray logos trying to prove credibility while blending into each other and the background. Then a headline about transformation, visibility, efficiency, or unlocking value.

By the fourth site, you stop seeing differences.

This is not because all of these companies are the same. It is because too many of them are using the same visual shortcuts to signal that they are serious.

And to be fair, that instinct is not stupid.

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