A website is so much more than just a website. In many cases, it’s a customer or client’s first introduction to your business, or the primary avenue for bringing in revenue. It’s where you build trust, explain your offerings, invite people to engage, and make sales. A website that is well written, well structured, and well designed can be the difference between a successful business and one that never makes it off the ground.
One of the most important aspects of a well designed website is making sure it aligns with your branding. If a website looks piecemeal, unprofessional, or off-brand, the whole business looks amateur or less than credible. Conversely, a website that effortlessly brings your brand to life is an opportunity for your business to stand apart as unique, elevated, and trusted. Working with a professional web designer is a worthwhile investment to ensure your website works as hard as you do for your business. However, if you’re not quite ready to invest yet, below are a few ways you can make sure your website design aligns with your branding.
The first way to ensure your website is on-brand is to follow your brand guide! It may seem obvious, but it’s very important to use the exact colors, fonts, and logos specified in your brand guide. For the logo, make sure the logo file you use is an svg or high-res, transparent png file. For colors, your brand guide should contain hex codes or RGB values that you can plug into your website platform’s color selector. To use your brand fonts, you may need to upload or code a few font files into your website platform if your brand fonts are not automatically available.
Beyond the logo, fonts, and colors, photography is an important visual element to consider for an on-brand website. If your brand guide has rules for how photos should look or how they should be edited, make sure to implement those rules consistently for each photo on your website. If there aren’t photography guidelines in the brand guide, take some time to think about your website photos and what you’d like them to visually communicate. Should they be fun, serious, whimsical, professional, bright, airy, moody, clean, or corporate? What types of settings should be represented? What type of lighting? If you’re sourcing stock photography, make sure the photos you choose all achieve these visual characteristics, and that they look cohesive. If you’re working with a brand photographer, talk to them about your brand vision and strategy so they can make sure your photos are aligned with the aesthetic of your overall brand.
In addition to photography, adding graphics that are unique to your brand is a great way to make your website stand out and feel branded. Do you have custom icons for your services? A brand pattern that can act as a background or visual pop? A texture that can be applied to backgrounds so they don’t feel flat and lifeless? Custom illustrations or fun accent graphics? These can really take a site to the next level and help it stand out from the sea of cookie-cutter, templated websites.
These tips can help ensure your website aligns with your visual branding, but sometimes you need a professional to take it to the next level. If you’re ready for a professional website that amplifies your brand and business, schedule a call today to discuss your vision.
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