Branding Your Web Site

By Staff Writer

Too often, businesses neglect branding on their Web sites, thinking that it somehow works differently from the rest of their marketing material. It’s a mistake they pay for with customers, and it’s a mistake that can easily be avoided by following these simple tips.

What is Branding?

In

It’s your identity and it’s the overall feeling you communicate to customers that helps them remember your company and return to your site.

order to get it right—and on your site—you first need to understand what branding is exactly. To b egin with, it’s more than just the product you offer and the way you advertise it. It’s your identity and it’s the overall feeling you communicate to customers that helps them remember your company and return to your site. It differentiates you from your competitors and helps you attract both new business and new employees.

Your brand is like a recipe. By combining different ingredients, you can create something that’s flavorful and distinct—but, like in cooking, in order to have a final product that is more than simply a mix of components, you need to use care and be creative. Your ingredients should include your business and product names, a slogan and/or tagline and a color and design theme. Additionally, your branding encompasses employees’ demeanor, your responsiveness to customers, and your company’s reliability.

Getting Your Brand on Your Web Site

Your Web site, like your office and your stationary, is an extension of your business, and it needs to reflect an individual personality.

Your Web site, like your office and your stationary, is an extension of your business, and it needs to reflect an individual personality. To build customer loyalty, you need more than just product listings, a shopping cart and contact information—you need to create a feeling or impression. That’s where branding comes in.

Know the Market

If you want your Web site to accurately reflect your business, your first step is to know your audience. Use your site’s tracking capabilities to really find out about your customer base. Where are they coming from? What actions are they taking once they come to your site?

Imagine a profile of your typical customer, including what online qualities attract them. For example, don’t design your site for a 20-year-old computer gamer if your average customer is a 45-year-old antiques collector. Look around your office or store and see what message you send to your in-person clients and customers. Are you hip and tech-savvy or practical and conservative? Translate that message into your site layout and color scheme to convey a consistent identity.

What’s your Sign?

A logo is more than just a stamp on your letterhead—it’s a

Pair your logo with your business name on every page of your Web site to increase customers’ association between the two.

symbol that’s easy for the mind to process and the quickest way for site visitors to recognize your brand. Pair your logo with your business name on every page of your Web site to increase customers’ association between the two. Place it strategically, in spots where it’s sure to be seen, and be sure to maintain the size, style and colors of the original design wherever it is reproduced.

Make a Statements

Read through all the copy on your site. Is it accurate and consistent? Does it appeal to visitors? Does it leave a definite impression? It’s important to send a consistent message by keeping the copy on your site in the same style and tone. You don’t want to be formal on some pages and friendly on others. If you find your copy sends conflicting messages, you should revamp it. How you sound does a lot convey who you are.

Reach Out to Customers

Your brand also includes your customer service. If you want customers to associate helpfulness with your business, write a comprehensive FAQ and make sure your phone number and email address are readily available throughout your Web site. Should a customer contact you, your customer service representatives should maintain the same tone as your site, i.e., the appropriate level of formality, and do their best to leave a lasting positive impression of your company in your customers’ minds.


As you first start adding branding to your online

By purposefully communicating your brand identity, you’re helping site visitors learn who you are and you’re teaching them to associate certain qualities with your business.

presence, your main priority should be consistency—branding is not something that should be in flux. After all, your goal is to make yourself identifiable to consumers, and to do so takes time. By purposefully communicating your brand identity, you’re helping site visitors learn who you are and you’re teaching them to associate certain qualities with your business. Although the most successful branding strategies are built over time, don’t wait to begin—you could be losing valuable potential customers!