How to Craft Cohesive Web Design for Small Businesses?

As businesses across the globe are getting digitized, a strong online presence with a unique brand design is the most crucial criterion. When it comes to brand design, you cannot avoid the parameter of website design. For website design and brand design to share a symbiotic connection, you need to align the website design with the brand values. Refer to the website as the brand's digital representation. It conveys the brand's values, identity, and personality to the target users.

As per a 2022 report by PR News Wire, 27% of small businesses don't own a website. 87% of these respondents look forward to investing in their brand's website. This puts major emphasis on the importance of website design for small businesses. Strategizing web design from the brand's perspective is also significant. A reliable web design company takes a similar approach while they work for a client. You can expect comprehensive support as brand strategies tend to change.

Why it is Important to Align Web Design with Brand Strategy

• Establishing Brand Credibility- The website design of your brand should reflect professionalism. A correctly-designed site helps to establish credibility and trust with your target users. It offers a strong commitment to your product or service quality. For example, if you have a gardening product-based brand and have designed your site with vibrant colors like red and yellow. It will have a negative impact on your brand as the site design won't reflect the brand objective. Instead, the shades of the green palette will help restore the brand's credibility.

• Brand Adaptability - With time, brands evolve, and it responds to changing user preferences and market dynamics. As you align strategy and site design, improving the brand's visual identity becomes more accessible. It inculcates flexibility while ensuring consistency. This is applicable even when you want to add graphics, visual elements, or UX content. 

• Supporting Brand Identity - It is significant to design your website as per the brand strategy as it maintains consistency of brand identity across every touchpoint. For example, you want to create a strong association for your brand. You must emphasize the consistency of the brand's presentation across all online platforms. Ensure your website reflects the story you want to convey through your brand. Getting digitized can be profitable, but aligning site design with your business strategy is what you need to prioritize. 

• Differentiating Brand- Every business has a small, medium, or large website. It represents their ideology across digital platforms. Here's the main question: 'What differentiates their website?' Yes, that is the design of their site. 

• Offers different services and products, so they maintain uniqueness in their website design. Thus, blending the basis of brand strategy and website design will help differentiate brands. 

• Improved UX- Your site's engagement increases when you blend the brand strategy with the website design. It eventually enhances the customer experience as the website resonates with the target audience. So, while designing the website, emphasize user expectations, the brand's tone, and aesthetics. The more the user relates to your brand through the website, the more they will be satisfied. 

5 Ways to Align Web Design with Brand Strategy

It is the crucial phase as it discusses the approach to blending the essence of brand strategy and website design.

• Prioritizing navigation and sitemaps - Before adding visual elements and graphics, you must start with the sitemap. If you are new to the website building process, frame a basic landing page outline. This will include the navigation menu on the first page and a clear structuring of the sub-pages. It will depend on your business requirements. 

For example, if you are operating an eCommerce business, your website should focus on the order or link to the user's shopping cart. Placing the link for special offers acts as the second priority. So, get a clear idea of the business requirements and proceed with the website design. 

• Emphasize the user's Persona - The foremost consideration while aligning the website with the business strategy is addressing the user persona. It will help you understand their motivational factor. Always avoid creating confusion in your user's mind. If you need a specific persona, take a back step. 

Plan what heading and visual elements can better represent your brand to the target users. Emphasize what solutions may solve the user's pain point. Website design is not only about adding graphics, a navigation bar, and a bottom panel; it requires understanding the marketing element of your brand. 

• Consistency is key - Web designing companies try to maintain consistency. They don't take a random approach to designing a site. They take a backward approach to consulting with the brand associates. Misalignment with the brand strategy can create a severe issue. In terms of consistency in website design, focus on the color elements. You can also customize photographs and add minimal stock imagery to your site. This will maintain brand credibility and improve its authenticity. 

• Building Brand Guidelines - Add a structured content section highlighting the brand guidelines while designing your site. In this step, you must get the correct layout style, font, size dimensions, and color palette aligning with your brand strategy. You can also add downloadable assets to different resolutions and formats. 

• Keep an eye on Best instances and practices - Practice makes everything perfect. Associate with an experienced web design company, as they can give better design services to your brand. If you need clarification on the design pattern, take inspiration from other sites and customize it to your needs. Learning from others and adding uniqueness can give you a competitive edge for your brand.

Key Takeaways

Website design goes beyond just defining layouts and themes. This requires correct alignment with the brand you are serving. This is because you want to increase the brand's visibility across all user touchpoints. Shuffling with a set of functions and features is not enough. Make sure that your website is a reflection of your brand. It should communicate your brand personality, goals, and values.