With so much online competition going on, a company wanting to stand out of the crowd must build a strong web presence and keep customers coming. However, what few entrepreneurs understand is that a website is more than a place on the Internet, it should be a coherent and appealing story that converts. When it comes to building an online brand, any company no matter how big or small should consider a handful of web design elements and branding strategies.
Technical issues
Before telling a story across your website, remember that you need to build a digital asset that works impeccably across the board. The main elements any entrepreneur should consider when developing a company’s website include navigation and use elements, speed, unique premium content, mobile friendliness, memorable visual elements, and security, among others. Once you checked them all out, it is time to consider branding and telling your brand’s story smoothly and convincing.
We also recommend you understand better UX design elements. They include not only how your site looks, but how your website works and how the users interact with and feel about it.
Logo creation
Whenever you think about a brand, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the logo. The second you recall a specific image associated with a company you already know its story. Beginner entrepreneurs and start-ups should think about a few things before considering their logo:
- Choose a symbol/image that sets them apart from the competitors;
- Create a logo that speaks clearly about what the brand does and who it reaches to;
- Have a symbol that reflects the company’s values at the same time;
- Come up with a logo that you can adjust and tweak depending on the platforms, screen sizes, device types, and more.
It seems that logo creation can consume a large part of an entrepreneur’s time and efforts, leading to extra costs in case one considers professional designers. Nevertheless, a start-up wanting to build brand identity without burning the budget can always shop for the best free logo maker on the market. You should look for a platform allowing you to choose the best vector icon that suits your needs, customize the shapes, icons, colors, fonts, and all other elements, export your logo in the desired format, and use it without restriction.
Logo maker platforms come with plenty of benefits (such as full website creation tools) that any beginner entrepreneur should consider.
As a piece of advice, keep in mind to place your logo on the top-left corner of the screen. Years of studies and heat maps’ tracking showed it is the best place to position it.
Colour schemes and brand elements’ placing
The psychology of colors in web design and brand identity building is a vast research filed and you should dedicate it some of your time. As experts say, a simple color tweak may increase your website’s conversion rate up to 24%, so color combinations and color branding are crucial. Here are some pointers to help you start:
- Black is usually associated with luxury products and sleek brands;
- Blue instills a feeling of trust, seriousness, and security; this is why it is present on banks’ and manufacturers’ websites;
- Pink is feminine and cute, mostly associated with fashion brands for women;
- Green is soothing and safe, mostly associated with health-related brands;
- Yellow is an attention grabber and jolly, great for a youthful, laidback audience;
- Orange is a call to action – you will see it mostly on smaller website elements, such as logos, buttons, shopping cart icons, and more.
There is more to choosing the best color than the eye can see. If you are going for a website building platform with customizable templates and layouts, make sure you pick a color scheme that reflects your business and tells its story to a tee.
Typefaces
Most people overlook this detail when they build a website. Choose a font that is easy to read, adapts easily to all device sizes and screen types, matches the tone and purpose of your website and business, etc. The typeface color should also fit the website’s color scheme. Writing with pink on purple may not be the best idea.
Graphic and multimedia elements
When it comes to using graphics, images, and multimedia elements in web design and development, an entrepreneur should know some of the following things:
- Make no compromise in the quality of the photos you use;
- All images, graphics, and videos should convey and create an emotion for your brand followers;
- Website eye-tracking studies show that all images should be relevant for the user’s purpose and task;
- Humanizing your website and conveying a story means using as many people images as possible;
- All images, videos, graphic elements, etc. should be compatible with all screen sizes across all devices and convey the same message.
One thing that most consider unimportant (and think will get away with easily) is the use of bland stock photos. Never upload a generic, un-retouched, and un-edited stock photo if you don’t want to bore your customers, look redundant, and make people feel you are incapable of making an effort.
Business storytelling elements
The newest and most powerful marketing campaigns these days focus not only on brand recognition, but a brand’s ability to “be in the room, 24/7, listen and even join the conversation.”
For a proper business storytelling strategy, apart from the “voice” you need to develop and get across and the premium content you need to deliver, here are some other elements that should be integral to your website branding efforts:
- Stating your company’s mission loud and clear (and preserve it);
- Building a genuine About Us page that does not re-run the same generic content of other pages, but puts an emphasis on people, goals, etc.
- Generate a sense of trust in the users’ minds – make sure you add security certificates, Terms and Condition pages, a Privacy Policy stating clearly how you use customers’ personal data, a reviews and testimonials’ page (real, not fake), social media accounts, and a Contact page with straightforward company data. Make sure you offer at least an email address and a phone number you answer, otherwise users will lose some faith in you.
- On-site SEO. Your website might be the crown jewel of the Internet, but it won’t do you any good if people don’t reach it. Building a website with SEO in mind from the start will spare you a lot of costs, time, and trouble in the future.
Bottom line
A solid website telling a story that converts into traffic or sales does not grow overnight, no matter what you hear. Take your time to build an attractive “house” that suits your target audience, makes customers feel valued, is in line with your business goals, and follows the latest trends in digital marketing.
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