Hi Duke!

When designing WordPress, I would recommend a simple feel because I learned from a professor that "less is more.". If you have too much going on, then you are missing the purpose. Simplistic does not mean boring, just more refined and lets your work speak for itself. 

This is an interesting topic! I agree with Gabriela that simple is better. I like to think of the graphics as the frame and writing as the picture. However, I am thinking of blogging. For social media, I think graphics and words are closer in importance!

I agree with what most people are saying on removed link Who wants to really be on a website with a clash of different intense-looking graphics? Simple always looks sleeker, nicer and more professional on any removed link I would go for a theme that's  like "spatial" or "blask" or "twenty seventeen". The less crowded, and more organized a theme is the removed link This allows for people to navigate the blog removed link Also, the nicer the design is the more likely a person would wanna keep coming back to read your removed link These are just my two cents as I do enjoy reading different removed link  

Today simple is the best for Google. It must be fast website for Google search engine. And everybody know that Google is king... So, simple layout will be faster than big. 

Yes, clean and simple gives the highest access to google, not to mention speed in loading which is another valuable attribute.

When one says clean and simple does one refer to the color schemes, or possibly emulating the current theme in app design where the design is increasingly block patterns?

Or is it stripping it down to a minimalist scheme where you use as little UI as possible? I feel like there might be a limit to less is more .... At some point it looses intrigue  

I think a good website has balance. If the color scheme is loud then the UI should be minimal. If the color scheme and general style is simple, then there's more room to have fun with the UI. But either way you have to insert some fun into the website!