Why you need your brand nailed before you build your website

Why you need your brand nailed before you build your website

We’ve seen it countless times. Excited about their new business and bursting with ideas, our clients rush into creating their new website before they have a clear brand vision. This is a mistake. That's because…

Your website is not your brand

That’s right – your website is not your brand. You must have your brand identity and vision clearly in place before you start trying to design a successful website that supports your brand rather than muddying it.  

Your website is just one facet of your branding. If you jump into its design and copy before you’ve cemented your brand identity and voice, you’ll end with a mixed-up and confused message. Your clients will be confused about who you are and what you offer, and they’re likely to bounce quickly.   

What is a Brand?

Before we go any further – we need to define exactly what a brand is and why it is so important. Simply put, your brand is the outward expression of your company and product – it includes your logo, mission statement, colour scheme, how you speak to your customers (and potential customers), and so much more. 

It is the way that your product or service is perceived by your customers and potential customer. Your brand should evoke emotions and encourage someone to take action. Your website should include your branding, but your website isn’t your brand.

Think of a brand like Waitrose. Even just saying its name evokes specific feelings and thoughts – you probably associate it with certain colours (greens and white, evoking nature and simplicity), fonts (sans-serif, which is a modern style), and messaging (high-end food for discerning customers). You might even have sense memories of the brand, including taste, smell, and touch.

Now compare it to Tesco. Again, you might think immediately of a colour scheme (red and blue, evoking primary colours and a no-nonsense approach), its font (serif, for a more traditional feel), and messaging (good value on quality items). Again, you might have personal memories and experiences of the brand. 

Some aspects of these brands are intangible. You can’t necessarily pin them down or put them in words – branding includes deeply personal experiences and feelings. They are how we perceive a product or company – and companies spend a lot of time trying to control that perception. They carry their different visual, mission, and vocal elements onto their websites to ensure that our perceptions are consistent and cohesive.

What are Brand Elements?

Brands include a number of diverse elements, including a mission, design, and voice.

1. Mission – The purpose behind any business. What do you do, and why do you do it? Who are you selling to, and why should they care?
2. Design - Your logo, colours, fonts/typography, and photography.
3. Voice – The tone of voice you use for your messaging and copywriting – what language and tone best suits your mission?

In addition to these elements, your brand also includes your competitive advantage, also known as your unique selling proposition (USP). Essentially, what do you do better than anyone else?

Finally, it includes your brand promise, which is the promise you make to your customer. For Waitrose, it might be ‘the finest food available,’ while for Tesco, it could be, ‘always good value.’ You usually communicate your competitive advantage and your promise via social media channels, adverts, taglines, and other aspects of your copywriting.

Why do you need to nail down your brand identity before you build your website?

When your potential clients navigate to your page, do you want them to quickly and effortlessly understand your brand and what sets you apart? Of course you do. That’s why your brand identity needs to be firm and cohesive before you can build a successful website.

Let’s start by thinking about the design elements of your website. As mentioned above, different aspects of your brand identity include logos, photography, the colour palette, fonts, images, and the tone and style of your copy. But remember - these are also the most crucial part of any website.

If you launch into the website before you have your branding in place, you run the risk of ‘choosing things that look nice’ for the time being. That hurried copy, standard fonts, and hasty logo can inadvertently become your brand. Nothing else you create will align, and everything will feel a bit muddled and hasty – it’s a branding disaster.

Your website should be one of the final elements you tackle, not the first

By now, hopefully you understand why your website should be one of the final elements you tackle, and never the first. You should first focus on building your brand mission, your design guidelines, and your tone of voice before you even consider designing your website.

Keep things consistent, on-brand, and in line with your core values – your customers will thank you (and so will your bank account).