Branding: What You Need Before We Design Your Website
Before starting any web design, we will need at a minimum your logo. The logo is the face of your business and the foundation of any design thereafter.
Understanding your brand
If you don’t yet have a logo for your business, first think about what your brand is all about.
What is the core purpose of your business?
What problem are you solving?
What kind of people would benefit most or are in need of what you do? Who is your target audience?
What sets you apart from other similar businesses? What special touch do you add to what you do?
How do you want others to feel about your business when they see your logo or visit your website?
What are the voice and tone of your business?
These are all questions to consider when you are developing your brand identity. All contribute to the colors, fonts, graphics, and voice that will be part of your branding. Whether you decide to make a logo yourself or hire a graphic designer, these kinds of questions will be important to answer.
Designing your own logo
If you have little or no prior design experience, you can get away with creating a logo for free or under $50 with a tool like Canva or Logomaker. You will be limited to their list of fonts, icons, and graphics, so it may not be as original, but it can certainly work when you’re starting out and have a low budget. In design, less is more, so stick with a logo that is simple and clear. The brands that we remember most are simple, timeless, and original. If you want to give this route a try and design your own logo, check out this step-by-step guide to walk you through the process.
Hiring a graphic designer to design your logo
Alternatively, you can hire a graphic designer to create your logo, which is fully customized and truly representative of your business. The cost of a logo design can be anywhere from $5 on Fiverr to hundreds or thousands of dollars with a freelancer or agency, such as on 99designs. Generally a good logo design should cost at least $300-800 and will include a branding package. This means that along with the logo and full legal copyright, you’ll also receive a color palette, graphics, fonts, and other elements of brand identity for your business.
You can be sure that the more you invest in a logo, the higher the quality and greater accuracy in reflecting your brand identity. Your entire business, its brand, and identity are represented in a single logo. Definitely take the time to determine what your business is all about.
Also remember that you and your business will probably change over time in the years to come too, so don’t worry about getting everything perfect from the start. You can always make a change or rebrand later, just as businesses refresh their websites every few years or so.
Whichever way you decide to go, make sure that you can download your logo in various formats (vector, high resolution) as you’ll use different forms of it for your website, social media, business cards, or other digital platforms.
If you already have a logo…
If you already have a logo (and branding), you’re one step ahead! Let’s just make sure it represents you and your brand! We’ll answer those same questions mentioned and go deeper on branding, styling, and your ideal client together because branding is reflected not just in your logo but also in your entire website.
If you only have your logo but no other elements, such as your fonts and color palette, we’ll also go deeper on branding, styling, and your ideal client, so I can create and solidify your branding as our first step towards designing your website.
Next time I’ll walk you through the whole web design process, so you can know what to expect and better decide if you’d like to work together!
