The ‘Why’ & ‘How’ of Imbibing Brand Strategy Into Website Designs!
Do you remember this crazy Disney Pixar movie called ‘Inside Out’ where there used to be a single most annoying jingle playing in the head of Riley that she just couldn’t get rid of? Yeah, it was a Tripledent Gum commercial, and oh boy was our protagonist stuck with that in her mind!
Well, that’s branding — a jingle, a catchphrase that you just can’t get out of your head!
As to what such branding does for your business, well, the possibilities are endless!
While branding has been and always will be a crucial part of the marketing front, with the new age, and an increased reliance on the virtual world, these branding charms need to find their way into the very first meeting between the client and the brand, that is, the websites.
So, come 2020, and how far along is brand strategy doing in the web design world, how and why should you be going forward with this practice?
Lots of questions in the queue, it seems! Let’s get to the answers now!
The World Of Brand Strategy In The Light Of The Pandemic
COVID-19 seems to have played the role of a miscreant quite well for the year 2020! With canceled travel plans, the postponed client meetings, and the devastated ROIs — it did quite a number with businesses irrespective of the genre of trade that they dealt in.
However, call it a silver lining — this social distancing and quarantined phases led trades to look into their remote working capabilities, virtual online presence — radical progress in their digital front.
To be honest, these changes were on the checklist of the businesses, however, their progress was accelerated by the sudden pandemic outbreak. But, how did this affect the brand strategy?
Well, let’s just say, with increased competition in the market, businesses are looking ahead to build in the signature styles that would fetch clients, retain them, and ensure that they advocate the brand.
Considering how branding is all about resonating the motto of the enterprise, reaching out to the targeted audience with their brand’s message — what could do the job better? Hence, branding has now become a mandate for organizations seeking to stand out from their competitors.
Well, this was just the tip of the iceberg. Are you ready for the complete show on building the brand of your website? Let’s get started with what branding holds for your enterprise!
Why Integrate Branding In Your Website Designing Strategies?
For any brand design agency, branding is like setting its unique footstep for its clients to recognize them by, and its competitors to envy them by! However, why the sudden leaning towards integrating branding into website designing strategies?
Let’s start by saying that the past couple of years has seen a spike of interest in building website designs that hold aesthetic appeal, create client engagement, and offer a unique touch. Such site designs are often held liable for increased visitors, boosted conversion sales, and reduced bounce rates.
Lining the designs up with branding insights indicates a shot at resonating and hailing the brand motto. This will further the enhancement and strengthening of the client-enterprise bond.
Here are some of the leading pros of integrating brand development strategies into website designing.
1. Boosting the Consistency Of Branding Practice
Websites are the first rendezvous point for enterprises and their prospects. Any element that might let the audience stay for a longer period is always welcome.
However, with websites, there comes a challenging point where it has to resonate or reflect the credibility and the values of the company.
Any glitches at this stage create an abyss of a gap between the clients and the brand, which more than often leads to loss of leads. The only way to avoid this would be by adopting consistent branding practices — this may include fonts, templates, design patterns, etc. This will offer users a seamless experience while navigating across the website and hence confirm the signature style of the brand.
2. Fetching Clients
By now, it must be crystal-clear that branding, when infused with suitable website designing, will do wonders in enhancing the client experience which in web design is the new ‘normal’.
Retaining such an audience will be a cakewalk considering you follow up with them; however, the Goliathan task here is fetching brand new clients.
Then again, considering the retained, loyal clients that your brand holds, advocating for your enterprise will not be a challenge. And as your potential leads to check out your website, they will be stumbling upon testimonials, services, and products that are aligned with the specific user goals.
The top web designer and development companies all acknowledge the potential that visual identity can hold to boost the conversion rates for the company, and hence, often suggest that branding, when infused into web designs, is the best choice that entrepreneurs or a company’s marketing team can make!
3. Inspiring employees
So, are the pros of branding limited to a prospect’s prospects only? We beg to differ! Any brand strategy that is perfectly aligned with the organization’s motto and its ethics offers its employees the needed exposure and assurance regarding their company’s authority in the industry vertical.
Additionally, there is also the fact that such branding motivates employees to continue with their hard work toward a common goal — the brand’s goal.
And trust us when I say that an inspired in-house staff holds the potential to boost the company’s success!
4. Enhancing Company Recognition
What’s the first thing that comes to you when you hear “I’m Lovin’ It” or “Give Me a Break” or for that matter “Five Dollar Foot Long” — Yes — McDonald’s, KitKat, and Subway, respectively! These earworms of jingles, a.k.a. the branding approaches dug deep into our brains establishing branding and identity design.
The companies mentioned here made the branding so integral to the products launched, that the jingles triggered images of the products.
Considering your branding technique has a similar impact, here is one leverage that you can count on — your audience might eventually forget the words that they hear, but they won’t ever forget
- How a service or product made them feel, or
- The visuals that get associated with that memory.
That’s the shortest possible route to client retention and brand identity design!
So, there you go — the top benefits of integrating branding into the web design strategic approaches.
Considering the pros associated, it is of no wonder that a considerable number of organizations are looking ahead to branding and website design for imbibing branding into the website design approaches. With the “why” aspect of the topic clear, it is time to look into the “how” part of the discussion.
How to Integrate Branding Into The Web Design Approaches?
Websites are the storefront of your business and they play a crucial role in driving targeted traffic. It is only with branding that you can drive the right traffic. Here are some ways to integrate branding into the website designs
Tip 1: Harness the Power of Whitespace
Website design is an ever-evolving space with such appealing trends that are sure to tempt you. And you feel like including a majority of them. This might include -
- The Dark Mode for websites
- Minimalism
- Voice-aligned
- Solid color blocks
- Fluorescent 3D digital artwork
- Overlapping layers
- Split-screen content
- Humor imbibed designs, etc.
Considering the impact that each of these trends has, we know the temptation that you have to face. But here’s the secret — when establishing your foot into your niche and creating branding for yourself, you mustn’t take a bite from each trend.
Stick to a couple or three, preferably ones that cater to your niche. P.S. in case you need help with this, the thought leaders in the field of web design and development will be more than willing to help!
To say that your branding website design will evoke emotions — is an understatement, it’s going to set your brand image and let your audience draw the line between your brand and your design. So, make sure to take an informed decision!
Tip 2: Maintain Consistency Across the Site
Consistency is crucial in the context — this includes the fonts, colors, and design patterns used across the website. These aspects should match up across all the web pages and social media platforms to offer a fair chance to the targeted audience to identify with the brand.
When it comes to logo design brand identity design, a fixed position of this branding would be beneficial — the best possible position is the upper left corner of any page.
The logo, when integrated should be of the same size — large enough to be noticed right after the colors of the page or the post draws the attention of the reader.
You can also request your chosen web design company to link the logo to your site’s home page. A click on the logo would redirect the visitor to another web page that comprises finer details about your organization.
Tip 3: Use Simple Fonts
With fonts, there is a trick associated — a lion’s share of the companies try and adopt different fonts thinking that it will help them stand out from the others in the field. However, this is a myth.
Your font, much like your brand’s color tone should be absolute. This should give your audience a chance to associate your brand with a specific color and font style. Any font that is too fancy to read, yes, that is “too” fancy! You don’t need that kind of distraction on your website. A majority of 2 fonts that are an absolute complement to each other would suffice.
Another aspect to be considered while choosing fonts is its compatibility with all internet browsers. A wide range of browsers and devices are on the roll now, and your font must suit all of these devices, platforms, and devices.
Let not your font hamper the mobile optimization that you have worked so hard for. Let your audience be on the receiving end of a convenient read that is comfortable to their eyes. Bank on
- Fonts hosted by servers like Google.
- Ones that do not overload browsers, and
- Ones that are too extravagant for easy-reading.
Because at the end of the day you would want your content to be read, your message to be acknowledged — the easier the process, the more the benefits reaped.
Tip 4: Use Tonality In-Sync With That Of The Brand’s
Your targeted consumers will be quick to recognize your brand over the tonality used across the website. Let’s say,
- Your brand is a startup that caters to tech-savvy consumers. Presumably, the preferred tonality here would be informal and fun-loving.
- Your brand is involved in a serious niche. The expected tonality would be formal, imbibe authority that reflects your expertise in the niche, and confident.
Such a difference in tone acts as a brand strategy and dictates the character of your enterprise.
Tip 5: Focus on Uniqueness
We understand the pressure that each business is considering the rapidly popularized online realm, virtual versions of the sites, and as a result, the emerging competition.
The first instinct might be to outdo your competitors; however, when it comes to your websites — your priority should be ensuring your site’s uniqueness.
You would want your clients to differentiate between your site and that of your competitor’s. This would help make your brand memorable, create quite an impression, and increase the chances of clients coming back to your site.
Tip 6: Take A Client-Centric Approach
Presenting the value proposition differs a lot when it comes to taking a client-centric approach.
The value proposition becomes much more concise and precise wherein the presentation ensures client loyalty considering how well the audience gauges your product and services.
The best way forward with this branding technique is to ensure that your design resonates with the true brand story.
The Bottomline
Brand strategy fundamentally covers your enterprise’s association with its current clients, potential consumers, sets the image across the niche, creates a repute, and ensures a unique identifier. With so much down the line, it is crucial that each entrepreneur looks into the details, investment, and considers the best ways forward with this!
