“Visually appealing”, “Easy to navigate”, “Mobile-friendly”, are the considerations that most companies take into account when designing their websites. Of course, these are important fundamentals of website design but to build a relationship with your audience you will need to convey your brand story with greater depth.
Your brand story is what differentiates you from your competitors and what connects your audience with the products and services you offer. Effective website design will therefore be able to communicate your story in an engaging and authentic way. Here are 4 tips to keep in mind when designing your website:
1) Be consistent
Design elements such as colours, fonts, and layouts all play a part in representing your brand. While cluttered, overdone designs can draw attention and be impactful, it often does not leave the kind of impression you want to make. Instead, be consistent with your brand image. If your website is visually aligned with your brand narrative, your business will feel more sincere.
Having an established visual identity makes your brand more recognizable, even with just a passing glance. This is why you should stick to a consistent set of design elements and apply them in all marketing collaterals, on top of your website, in order to build memorability over time. As more people are repeatedly exposed to your brand image, they will become more likely to recognise your brand, even outside the context of your website.
2) Stimulate Emotions
It is important to consider the perspective of your audience and what they might be feeling when they visit your website. Other than avoiding the feelings of frustration that comes from a poorly designed user experience, you should also aim to stir up positive emotions in your audience with your website visuals. If your viewers associate your brand with pleasant emotions and are able to vibe with your website design, the popularity of your brand will no doubt rise. After all, who doesn’t want to feel good.
A simple way to do this in a subtle manner is to rely on colour theory. Humans are programmed to have a universal response to colour stimuli. This is why many airline websites often use blue as their main colour to evoke a sense of calm and reliability, or why black is used by many brands to exude sophistication.
3) Focus on what makes you unique
As more and more businesses move online and focus on creating a digital presence, it is incredibly important for you to stand out from the crowd. To build a strong brand online, you need to clearly identify and present your unique selling propositions (USPs). These USPs are what set you apart from your competitors.
Being able to see why they should choose your company over others can be highly motivational to potential customers, especially if it is presented in an impactful way. Your website should be especially informative about how your brand is able to solve their problems.