If you’re launching a startup or expanding your small business, the ground rules are much the same: you need to be highly visible online, and you must build a brand that people connect with.
Instant recognition of a logo and developing global brands can take millions of dollars to achieve, but you can grab a decent slice of customers if you approach branding the right way. Building a relatable brand often starts by constructing a website that looks and feels good to navigate. It levels the playing field with the competition, since you can make a website that does everything you want relatively inexpensively.
There are so many options for building a professional website without knowing code these days, which makes design more a case of knowing what you want and what looks good. The key is knowing what works online and what works for your brand. This article will help you develop and maintain good website branding.
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1. Think About Whitespace and Balance
If you want to achieve flow and readability, the key ingredient for making your website easy on the eye is whitespace. Whitespace is a design principle growing in popularity; most new, high-performing sites use a minimalistic design that includes lots of ‘white’ or ‘negative’ space.
Empty space might feel like a missed opportunity to convey information to your audience, but it helps to guide readers and help them understand the content more logically. It is one of the most essential website design elements because it will help keep visitors on your site for longer and improve their experience while there.
2. Simplify Navigation and User Experience (UX)
Almost nothing is going to make a potential customer click away from your site faster than the inability to find what they want. Navigating your website with ease is part of the user experience that helps to define your brand. Use your website to tell customers that their time is valued, and that you’re able to address their needs efficiently.
There is no need to make navigation complicated; keep navigation menus short and sweet with a handful of relevant options. Make sure to include an option for customers to learn more about you (i.e. an ‘About Us’ page) and contact you (i.e. an ‘About Us’ page) to make things easy for those who are still unaware of your company.
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3. Tell Your Story – Use an ‘About Us’ Page
You shouldn’t underestimate how important the About Us section of your website is, especially when you are a startup or small business and don’t have the luxury of brand recognition. This is an easily identifiable area of websites where visitors can go to learn who you are, what your company does, and why customers should be driven to purchase your products or services.
Focus on what it is that makes you stand out from the others. Whether that is great customer service, low prices, or guaranteed fast delivery times, it is this edge that you should focus on when building your brand and creating a strong word association.
Make the information interesting but succinct. This will help readers understand who is behind the business and what your philosophies are. Keeping this page short is ideal, since few customers will want to know everything about you. Instead of providing the entire backstory behind your organization, tell them specifically why you exist and what your value proposition is to them. Anything else and you’ll risk losing their attention in low-value content before getting into all the good stuff.
4. Don’t Forget a Call to Action
It pays to remember that your website is primarily going to act as a gateway to further action, such as a purchase or an inquiry for more information about a product or service. Making sure that your website is actionable will help you start conversations with warm leads. For most startups, this strategy will help to increase the size of your sales pipeline and act as a “silent salesperson” that leads customers through the buyer’s journey.
Actively encourage interaction with a signup form or buttons that take them to your social media pages. Also, don’t forget to position these calls to action appropriately. Website visitors will be at all different phases of purchase-readiness, so use these calls to action to direct them to the pieces of information that they’d be looking for.
5. Use an Appropriate Logo and Domain Name
A big priority in your brand-building process is to decide what words and images you want your customers to use when describing your brand.
It helps to have an uncomplicated domain name. Search for something suitable to improve your chances of getting as many visitors as possible finding your site. Keep your domain name short; this will help with search engine optimization (SEO) and will improve how your brand name appears in internet browsers.
If launching a new business and you want to find an image that will be associated with your business going forward, a logo maker tool could help provide some inspiration. Don’t forget to brush up on your colour theory to make sure your logo is giving the right impression of your brand, and try to keep the design simple so that it doesn’t distract site visitors. If you have a complex logo already, it might be worth your time to build a web optimized (simplified) version that can be used around your site and remind visitors of your brand.
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Get Started on Your Website Branding Strategy!
Getting your business noticed has become easier in some ways because it’s easy to get your message in front of people online. That said, it’s a crowded space, which is why you need to get your website design and brand recognition tactics just right.
Use these tips and schedule time for yourself to develop and apply a company brand to your website. You’ll begin to notice the benefits almost instantly!
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