How to Design Your First Branded Business Website

In case you’re of a sure age—let’s say 35 or older — you in all probability bear in mind the awe and immersion you felt the primary time you spun up Netscape Navigator and visited your favourite model’s enterprise “web site.”

Now fast-forward to this age of AI, Uber, Roblox, Meta, Snapchat, and a lot extra… And guess what? A web site remains to be the easiest way to share your model with the world.

That’s true whether or not you’re a mega model or a humble creator, solopreneur, or small enterprise proprietor. A long time on, a web site nonetheless gives unparalleled artistic flexibility and management over your model. It’s a spot the place guests can be taught extra about you in your phrases. An incredible web site helps you inform your story, construct belief, and even create group and followers for all times.

As we speak we’re sharing a primer on branding and web site design for on-line creators and entrepreneurs. We’ll stroll you thru the best way to design a web site to your model, whether or not you’re a creator, solopreneur, or small enterprise proprietor with a workforce of staff.

This text received’t perform as a step-by-step information to launching a web site or go into an excessive amount of depth on the subject of branding itself. (For that, The SPI Newbie’s Information to Branding will help you outline your model’s mission, imaginative and prescient, and extra, and determine if it must be a private model or an organization model.)

Fairly, it is a subject information to designing a web site that places your model entrance and heart and connects along with your target market.

Why You Want a Branded Web site

So why a branded enterprise web site? Alongside along with your electronic mail listing, a web site is a must have whenever you’re beginning out constructing your model. Like an electronic mail listing, you could have extra artistic and administrative management over a web site than you do your presence on different platforms like Fb, Instagram, or Etsy. And apart from uncommon service interruptions or safety breaches, your website is way much less prone to disappear the best way a social media account will be banned or suspended.

Your branded web site is like your private home base, a focal place for shaping your model picture and narrative. At SPI, we not too long ago revamped our web site to give attention to our core focus of group constructing and make it cleaner and simpler to navigate.

Right here’s what a well-crafted small enterprise web site will help you do:

• Management your model: A web site provides you full management over the way you present your model to the world, with out the artistic restrictions of third-party platforms. It additionally diversifies your on-line presence, lowering dependence on any single platform.

• Construct belief: A well-designed web site lends an air of professionalism and legitimacy to your model, instilling belief.
• Personal your content material: You personal and management the content material in your web site, lowering the chance that algorithm modifications or platform shutdowns will harm your content material’s attain and visibility.
• Generate profits: You should use your web site to advertise and promote services or run adverts.
• Construct group: Web sites provide a devoted house for constructing a group and a following. You’ll be able to seize e-newsletter and email-list sign-ups, and even hyperlink to your individual membership group.
• Showcase your work: Use your web site to share case research, testimonials, and portfolios of your work along with your viewers.
• Perceive your viewers: Web site analytics present useful information on consumer habits, serving to you higher perceive your viewers and optimize your content material to succeed in them.

Your Web site Ought to Specific Your Model Character

When lots of people hear the phrase model, they assume brand. And true, a brand is a key a part of your creator or on-line entrepreneur model — however your model can also be much more than only a snazzy graphic. Since your web site is your private home base, it’s one of the best place to convey the essence of your model by way of the next key components:

• Shade scheme: Make the most of a most of 4 brand-reflective colours. Align colours with professionalism; keep away from mismatch. Discover coloration psychology—the examine of how colours have an effect on perceptions and behaviors—for steering.

• Tone of voice: Past aesthetics, your branded enterprise web site wants a definite voice — a tone that informs all of your written content material. Adapt your tone to your persona, area of interest, and viewers, retaining it approachable and jargon-free.

• Tagline or motto: A concise, memorable tagline helps convey your model id and worth in bite-size kind. It’s a bit of element that may matter quite a bit!

• Signature font: Select one or two readable fonts that mirror your persona, for consistency throughout every thing you write and to bridge your model’s visible id with its written one.

• Unforgettable brand: Final however not least, an attention grabbing brand gives immediate model recognition. Think about enlisting a graphic designer for this one.

Optimizing the Visible Expertise of Your On-line Enterprise Web site

For probably the most half, guests will expertise your web site visually, so there are just a few extra necessary issues on the subject of your website’s visible belongings. Make sure that the pictures, background designs, and different visuals you employ in your website are:

• Related to your model and content material: This may occasionally appear apparent, however your web site visuals ought to make sense within the context of your model and the encompassing content material. Every visible asset ought to complement and improve the content material it accompanies and align along with your model’s id, reflecting its values, persona, and messaging. 
• Strategically positioned: Place visuals purposefully to information the consumer’s journey and emphasize key messages. Think about the move of the web site and the way visuals can improve storytelling.

• Constant in model: Sustaining a constant visible model throughout all photographs creates a cohesive and harmonious look and helps with model recognition. Use these model colours!

• Top quality: Use high-resolution, skilled photographs; grainy or pixelated ones can detract out of your model’s credibility.
• Accessible: Not all your guests can be experiencing your branded enterprise web site visually, so be sure that any visible belongings are accessible by including descriptive alt textual content to all your photographs.
• Optimized and responsive: Visible belongings ought to adapt nicely to numerous display sizes, notably on cell units. They need to even be compressed to enhance loading instances (and search engine rankings).

• Authorized: All photographs must be both authentic, correctly licensed, or fall underneath truthful use. Respect copyright legal guidelines, and get permission if it’s essential to!
• Timeless: As a lot as potential, select visuals that may evolve along with your model somewhat than traits which may change into outdated.
• Human: Human faces and expressions can create a stronger emotional reference to the viewers, so incorporate photographs that function individuals.

By ensuring the visible and written expertise of your web site is constant, skilled, and aligned along with your model id and voice, you’ll foster a way of familiarity and belief along with your viewers.

A Nice Creator Web site Wants a Nice Person Expertise: Format and Navigation

Your web site isn’t only a static show; it’s an interactive expertise to your viewers. When you’ve established the important thing model components your web site wants, out of your model’s objective to its voice, tone, and visible id, it’s time to start out designing the precise website structure.

As you’re selecting a structure, take into consideration what’s going to greatest convey your model id and message whereas making issues as seamless and intuitive as potential to your guests to navigate and discover what they’re on the lookout for. Listed here are some fashionable structure choices to think about:

• Single-Column: Clear and easy, with a single column for straightforward navigation.

• Grid: Organizes content material right into a visually interesting grid construction, appropriate for showcasing a number of objects effectively, like portfolios or product shows.
• Journal or Weblog Format: Mimics {a magazine} or weblog with a number of columns — well-suited for content-heavy web sites.

• Hero Picture or Video: Encompasses a placing picture or video on the high, capturing rapid consideration and sometimes used for product showcases or setting the model tone.
• Break up Display screen: Divides the webpage into two distinct sections, offering a contemporary and visually interesting design with room for artistic components.
• Parallax Scrolling: Creates a dynamic scrolling expertise with background components shifting at completely different speeds, including depth and interactivity.
• Card: Presents content material in modular and versatile playing cards, selling visible hierarchy and simple group, appropriate for numerous varieties of info.

• Full-Display screen Background: Incorporates a full-screen picture or video background for a visually immersive expertise.

A fast be aware on navigation: No matter structure you select, your customers’ ease in navigating your website will decide how lengthy they stick round and whether or not they’ll discover what they want—or in the event that they’ll get pissed off and quit. You can too assist individuals navigate your branded web site by way of cautious placement and group of menus and footers.

The Strategic Content material Your Web site Wants

You’ve found out your model’s visible id and voice and chosen a structure for the location. Now it’s essential to fill it with helpful content material that tells your guests who you’re, what you do, and how one can assist them!

These are among the key pages to think about to your branded enterprise web site—some are must-haves, whereas others will depend upon your corporation and choices:

• Dwelling Web page: The house web page ought to provide a snapshot of your model, engaging guests to discover additional, speaking your distinctive worth proposition, and guiding customers to key sections of your web site.
• Weblog: Past selling your services or products, blogs are nonetheless a well-liked option to share useful content material that positions you as an authority in your area of interest.
• Podcast Web page: In case you have a podcast, it is best to positively have a devoted web page for it in your website. Though your podcast can technically exist and not using a web site, a podcast web page can promote your present and assist listeners be taught extra about your model and choices.
• Credibility Part: Testimonials, case research, and press protection showcase the optimistic experiences of others, establishing your model’s credibility and reliability and constructing belief. This content material can reside by itself web page or be positioned strategically at completely different locations in your website.
• Product/Service Pages: Every services or products web page ought to present detailed info, advantages, and a compelling name to motion (CTA). 
• Model Story/About Web page: Your viewers connects with the individuals and the story behind your on-line enterprise. Use this web page to speak your mission, values, and the journey that led to the creation of your model.
• Store Web page: If you wish to use your website to promote issues, you’ll want a store web page with straightforward navigation, clear product categorization, and a streamlined checkout course of.

Examples of On-line Creator and Entrepreneur Branded Web sites

For a bit of inspiration, right here’s a number of nice branded enterprise web sites created by on-line creators and entrepreneurs similar to you! These of us all occur to be members of our SPI Professional group, which you’ll be able to be taught extra about at SmartPassiveIncome.com/group.

Gnome Angel

Ange Wilson’s quilting-based creator enterprise web site has a robust, vibrant visible id based mostly round a palette of pinks and blues and a playful header font. The Gnome Angel worth proposition greets you as quickly as you open the house web page, and as you scroll you find out about Gnome Angel’s sources and merchandise by way of a “patchwork” design model that evokes a quilt. The “sticky” navigation menu persists as you descend the house web page, offering quick access to the remainder of the location.

Piscari

The Piscari website is an organization model web site with a easy, clear, useful house web page that serves as an About web page for the corporate and its founder, Mike Lander, with a hyperlink to hitch the Piscari electronic mail listing on the backside. A high nav menu that shows on each web page makes it straightforward to be taught extra concerning the firm, its providers, and different sources. The “Contact Us” button, framed in daring inexperienced, highlights the principle name to motion guests are inspired to take.

Jette Stubbs

Profession and enterprise coach Jette Stubbs’ website introduces her choices proper off the bat, adopted by a pleasant picture of Jette that humanizes the model. The straightforward single-column structure reduces distraction and guides you down the web page as you encounter a cheerful consumer’s testimonial and be taught extra about Jette’s providers. Graphic components and pictures are interspersed all through, together with delicate font coloration modifications to spark consideration. The parallax scroll impact with Jette’s face within the background provides extra human dimension and a little bit of novelty. A easy high navigation menu is duplicated on the backside, with hyperlinks to an About web page, Jette’s podcast, and testimonials.

Nonetheless on the Fence about Constructing a Web site for Your Small Enterprise? 

We’ll finish with just a few reminders — and by debunking just a few widespread misconceptions about making a branded enterprise web site:

• Sure, you do want a web site. Web sites aren’t only for huge firms, and social media isn’t sufficient.
• Your web site doesn’t must be complicated or aesthetically gorgeous. Easy, user-friendly designs usually carry out higher, so give attention to readability and performance above all.
• A web site wants consideration. Your web site isn’t simply going to draw visitors by itself. It’s essential to market it and recurrently populate it with contemporary, Search engine optimisation-rich content material.
• You don’t must go it alone. There are many nice designers on the market who will help you craft a brand and construct a professional-looking branded web site. (We labored with the nice individuals at Rockbase for our redesign.)

In case you’re feeling daunted, don’t! We’ve obtained all of the help it’s essential to begin constructing your model and designing a killer web site to indicate it off to the world. Try our website’s Free Sources tab, the place you’ll discover content material for entrepreneurs at any degree. In case you’re able to take the subsequent huge step in your on-line work trip, head to SmartPassiveIncome.com/group to find out about our communities for on-line entrepreneurs. You’ll be able to be taught from others such as you who’ve constructed their very own branded web sites, achieve entry to our full library of programs, take part in reside occasions, and extra.