So your logo is only one of the ways to visually identify your brand and business. Your business has goals it’s trying to achieve, and your branding is one of the things that can help you accomplish those goals. Your brand is how you’re perceived by your audience.
And then comes the website. It’s your digital storefront, and you want a smooth experience for your clients and customers. When you’re physically in a store, things are laid out to lead you to the next section of the store, and then to the checkout. Your website should do the same (whether you’re selling products or providing services).
Now this isn’t the ultimate comprehensive list, because that could probably be the length of a few novels. But to start, these are 10 things that commonly slip by in branding and websites.
01: Look at everything from your ideal client’s POV
It’s a common mistake as a business owner is branding or rebranding to only choose what they like. Resonating with your visual identity (logo, colors, typography, photographs, etc) is still important for you to want to do business things. BUT remember, you want to attract your ideal customer! Without them, you kinda can’t do those business things. What visual identity elements does your ideal client like to see? How do they like to be spoken to? Step into their shoes and look at it all from their viewpoint.
For your website, is your customer able to find important information easily? Or do they have to go searching for answers? Make sure you know what they’re looking for from you. Provide value they can’t resist. If you’re not sure what you can give or what they want, just ask! Try out a poll to your audience on social media, an incentivized survey, a brief questionnaire, or even 1:1 quick interviews.
02: Define your brand heart, brand personality, brand voice
Your brand heart is your big decision maker. It’s “why you exist, what you do, how you do it”. (Column Five Media). It keeps your brand grounded. Answer these questions for your business or personal brand:
- Why do we exist?
- What does my business do?
- What are we trying to do? How will we do that?
- What are our unchangeable values?
Your brand personality and brand voice are how your business will communicate and interact. If you have a personal brand, chances are your brand personality and brand voice will reflect yours as an individual. For your business, how does your customer like to be talked to? What personality traits are inviting to them?
03: Infuse personality into your brand
It’s not uncommon for so many brands’ content to blend together and be a bit unmemorable. Think about influencers, thought leaders, industry leaders you watch and follow. You could probably describe their personality to me, right?
Don’t be afraid to infuse personality into your brand. This can be one of the ways you differentiate from your competitors and provide that customer experience people are looking for! So you know that brand personality we just talked about? Start by writing down a few words or phrases that can help you start defining that personality.
04: Have Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy pages
If you sell anything, have a form, email subscribe section, or anywhere where users put personal info: Protect ya self.
Terms and conditions are typically what users agree to by being on and visiting your website. The privacy policy tells how you collect information and data, and what you do with it.
If you’re in the EU (or have clients based there), you probably wanna have a cookie policy and receive cookie consent per the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In general, it’s a safe bet to have those things on websites internationally.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or attorney. This is not legal advice.
05: Know who will make updates to your website
If you have a website, you probably know what it feels like to always have something that needs to be updated.
New products or services need to be added. Old things need to be taken down. Content needs to be uploaded. SEO needs to be optimized. Security needs to be checked and double-checked. Et cetera, et cetera. Know whose responsibility that is. If you’re a solopreneur, is that person you? Will you hire someone out do to it for you? If you have employees or business partners, who’s in charge of making updates to your website? You don’t want potential clients to turn away, because they think your website is outdated (ie. “Booking for June 2022” or “Orders will be shipped at the end of November 2021” when it’s past).
06: Create goals for your business
The goal for branding is to support your business goals. Making measurable goals will help you know what to do with your branding, on your website, socials, networking, in-person, etc. It could be sales, click-throughs, engagement, leads, or conversions.
On your website, goals can help you funnel your audience to the bottom-of-funnel. That’s a hot lead! That’s someone who’s interested in what you have or what you’ve got to say! Each part of the website could have different purposes, but all lead to your main goals.
07: Consistency is 🔑 for a reason
When you’re constantly changing your logo, editing your photos different on each post, using totally different colors and fonts everywhere, and switch up your messaging or voice… it’s gonna be real tough for your audience to have good brand recall.
You can definitely make changes as you figure out what works and doesn’t work for your brand, but you want to have consistency that your customers can rely on. Consistency coincides with their perception of quality.
08: Pivot with the times
This doesn’t mean a place like Boudin Bakery that’s been around since 1849 needs to rebrand with a trendy logo and do whatever’s “cool” at the moment. But they’ve adapted with the times. There’s a website, you can order online, you can have your food delivered.
Many businesses that couldn’t pivot when COVID-19 shut down. We’re talking decades-old businesses that went under. Kinda like how Borders shut down when they couldn’t take things digital. Or when Blockbuster went bankrupt because they didn’t wanna mail DVDs like Netflix was (amongst many other reasons).
The world changes. Trends on the internet are rapidly changing. Always be prepared to pivot.
09: Naming your business
In 1976, the people who made Pop Rocks released Space Dust. But parents complained about it seeming too similar in name and texture to the drug, Angel Dust. So they rebranded it as Cosmic Candy, buuuuut the damage was done. Cosmic Candy was a bust. The rumors did their damage.
When you’re naming your business, think about how all kinds of people will interpret or perceive things. It’s always a good idea to check that you’re not be offensive, insensitive, or appropriating others’ cultures!
I could go on a whole tangent about business naming. You should also keep in mind differentiation and uniqueness. Is it kinda the low-hanging fruit option? Is it too obvious? Is it overdone across multiple industries? Is it too similar to competitors in your industry?
I often think about Glossier being a made up word. Or Nike sharing the name of a Greek goddess. They didn’t go for the obvious. It’s not Dewy Makeup or The Running Shoes Company.
10: Testing every single thing on your website
Try every single page and function out.
Click on each page on your website. Does it load to the correct page?
Enter your info on every form. Does it submit correctly? Are things automated correctly? Does it take you to the right place?
Every link, button, slide, scroll, etc. Make sure EVERYTHING is working correctly.
If you need support building your brand and website, we’re here for you!
Lucky Orchard is a strategy based brand and web design studio for those unafraid of infusing personality and standing out. You can view our services here, or contact us here.
