Using Web Design to Brand Your Small Business

A cohesive website design is crucial to branding

The needs of small businesses are no different than those of larger corporations. Small businesses need to establish their brands in the marketplace just as much as the big guys, if not more. When you are talking about choosing between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, that’s one thing. But when you are trying to stand out as a landscaper in a sea of other landscapers, branding is essential.

A cohesive website design is crucial to branding. It can also be a catalyst for establishing your brand as a whole. Conceptually, branding has three major components: consistency, differentiation, and customer focus.

Consistency

Consistency is key to business recognition. To establish consistency, your website needs to reflect the aura of your physical business.

Using a professionally designed logo, interesting photos, infographics, and professional headshots is imperative. Nothing will turn users away faster than grainy, unprofessional pictures and graphics.
Typography, illustrations, and coloring choices are also important to producing a consistent brand – both on and off line. If your logo is fun and funky, then your site should be. Conversely, if you have a very polished, clean logo, then your site should match that feel.

Differentiation

To set your business apart from the crowd, you have to differentiate yourself. A website can help you do this through its User Experience (UX).

There is a huge UX push in web design right now. It’s all about getting users engaged in your site and keeping them engaged. Videos, animation, and other visual elements come into play here, but there’s more to it than that. UX attempts to know what your customer wants before your customer does. There’s sociology and psychology behind it. If you can anticipate your customers’ needs, just think of how much you will stand out from your competition.

The more you can get customers to interact, the more they will remember your brand.

Customer Focus

An excellent way to attract new customers and retain current customers is to focus on written content. Blogs are one of the best ways to bring content to your customers (and also boost your Search Engine Optimization). Your blogs should be written in a style that is consistent with your brand, with topics that are interesting to your target audience - and pertinent to your business.

Don’t forget about your “About Us” page – too many businesses put little thought into this page when it’s actually an influential page for potential customers and often the second stop in a website visit.

It’s hard to establish one without establishing the others. If you can’t tell where your web brand ends and your physical brand begins, then you’re on the right track.

Conveyance Marketing Group is a marketing and web development company with a passion for delivering strategic, sustainable and affordable marketing and web solutions to start-ups and small businesses. Our service offerings include video, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), inbound marketing, graphic design, logo design, advertising and web design. Our creativity is limitless, let us help accelerate the growth of your company! Contact us today for more information on how we can help you.