Designing a successful brand

Websites are increasingly important for many businesses to reach new customers and keep existing ones, so it's important to have a brand that works online.

Online branding strategies

Larger companies will have specific brand guidelines that their web designers will need to incorporate, which will dictate style, colours and fonts, position of the logo, etc.

Small businesses will often need to start developing their brand from scratch, including designing a logo. A web designer can often help you with this - see how to choose and work with a designer.

A web designer or a web design agency can help you:

• do your customer research
• plan the scope of your website
• design a website suited to your customers - see user-centred design for website
• move your brand onto the web, keeping its values and identity preserved
• create content to attract and engage visitors and convey your brand

Online branding techniques

The web is an excellent platform to build your brand, so it's important not to ignore branding when working on your website. The elements you will have to pay particular attention to are:

• Colour - stick to your brand colour palette, but perhaps use different shades for different elements (eg background colours, headings and links).
• Character and tone of voice - think how the content and images used on your site match your brand personality. Does your brand promise reliability? Does it stand for adventure? Is it trust-worthy? Make sure that your content and web visuals support your brand promise and position in the market.
• Consistency - you should keep colours, visuals and typography consistent throughout so that your website can project a uniform image. See ensuring brand consistency.
• Positioning of the logo and navigation - follow accepted norms, ie a logo in the upper left area of the page, linking to the site's homepage. Navigational elements will generally sit horizontally on top or vertically aligned to the left.

See more on best practice in web design.