For many members of your audience, the first impressions of your business will happen online. This could be through search results, pay-per-click ads, social, or email. All of these channels are designed to lead traffic back to your website, though, where the idea is that your audience can learn more about your business. Ensuring that your site accurately and elegantly represents your brand is crucial. Below are some tips to consider regarding branding in website design.
Create a Clear Brand Identity
Your brand identity is similar to your personality and should reflect your mission, vision, and values. It should use the right voice as you deliver your message. You’ll also want to strategically display your logo on all pages of your site, use brand colors, and consistent typography. All these elements add up to a more recognizable brand.
Optimize User Experience
It helps to ensure that your users will have an easy and intuitive experience when they visit your website. This can be accomplished through menus that are easy to navigate, forms that are easy to fill out, and an intuitive page flow. Users need to understand how to find the information, product, or service they seek. When it’s easy to figure out, it’s a victory for your brand and your business.
Consistency in Design
Your website may be large, with dozens, if not hundreds, of pages. You may have more than one person with the ability to log in and update the content. The same design elements must be carried over from page to page. Fonts, colors, buttons, graphics, and other elements should look the same throughout your website. This consistency allows your audience to associate specific styles with your brand.
Responsive Design
More people are accessing the internet from their phones and mobile devices than ever before. Ensuring they’ll have a good experience on all devices is critical. Making your website responsive enhances the user experience and gives your brand a modern and relevant image.
High-Quality Content
Your content needs to serve a purpose. It needs to be high-quality, engaging, and informative. Individual product and service pages need to guide people through the purchasing process. When your content aligns with your brand, your audience can take note.
Following Basic SEO practices
Page one visibility in the search engines gives your business more credibility. Your audience will be more willing to take your business seriously. A well-branded site also stands out more from the competition. So, when you follow current SEO practices, you can be visible while being distinct.
Website Accessibility
People with disabilities should be able to access your website the same as anyone else. It also makes sense from a business standpoint. Simple modifications such as alt text for images, keyboard navigation, or closed captioning for videos can make your site more appealing. It improves the user experience and shows that your brand acts inclusively.
Faster Load Times
Users expect instant access to your website, especially in today’s fast-paced environment. It’s essential to optimize your site for faster load times by doing things like minimizing image sizes or utilizing caching techniques.
Add More Social Proof
Reviews and testimonials allow your audience to see what the people who have done business with you thought about the experience. It improves your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. Make sure to update reviews and testimonials to maintain relevancy regularly.
It’s Time to Do Things Different
We could tell you something about how the definition of insanity is doing something the same way over and over while expecting different results. It’s time to rethink the strategy of doing things just like the competition to “fit in” within your industry. A better approach would be to speak in a way that is true to your business and will resonate with your audience - to be authentic. Improving your branding in wesbsite design can help.
If your website features some glaring inconsistencies, or you want to sharpen your marketing to reflect your brand a little more, contact us today, and we can help. We’ve designed websites for thousands of companies, and we can design one for you, too.
