What to Keep In Mind When Designing a Website Corporate Identity

The identity of a company is a combination of all the visual and physical elements that customers can encounter. This includes websites, marketing materials, packaging and logos. A website identity is important because it defines how people will see and interact with a business online. There are several things to keep in mind when designing a website corporate identity.

Make Sure the Style Is Consistent

Something to remember when designing a corporate identity is to make sure the style is consistent across the entire website. This should include landing pages, about pages and sell pages. Visitors should find the same few layouts, graphic styles and navigation elements on nearly every page of the site. The logo and brand colors should always be used. An inconsistent website will confuse visitors and reduce the impact of the site. Consistency will make it easier to navigate the site and understand the brand message.

Avoid Too Many Animations

It can be tempting to want to develop a corporate identity that relies on animations and other tricks that are available only online and not in print. You should avoid using too many animations. Animations on every page can create a cluttered appearance. Multiple animations will not build a brand or identity. They can hurt a brand by making the website inaccessible to people with slow connections. They might not render correctly on mobile devices. Animations should be used sparingly and almost never as part of the core identity.

Take Extra Time to Choose the Right Typeface

The font used throughout the website is very important. The font will help to define part of your corporate identity from the very start. Experiment with different fonts before deciding on one or more type typefaces. Do not just assume that you are going to use the default fonts. The font should reflect the target audience and the brand. It should be legible and should render sharply. The chosen font should be accessible to everyone. The right font can solidify an identity online.

Stay Away From Gimmicks and Fads

There have been gimmicks and fads with online design for a long time. There are things like marquee tags and graphics that float around the screen obscuring text. You should always stay away from any current fads and gimmicks. A corporate identity should be built on solid design principles and standard website features. Gimmicks and fads could hurt your brand eventually if they become unsupported by common browsers. They could also cause technical problems that force people away from the website.

Always Use Custom Graphics

There are many different options for graphics today. It can be tempting to try to use clipart in order to fill in some of the gaps on a website. Clipart is freely available. Unfortunately, most people today can identify clipart. It can create a very unfavorable identity and could result in customers who feel the website is unprofessional. You should always use custom graphics. These graphics should be done by experienced professionals. Using clipart or poorly done graphics on a website will harm the overall identity of the company even if the products or layouts look professional.

Use a Professional Design Firm

A final thing to consider is using a professional design firm. These firms can build a complete corporate identity that reflects the business and the brand. They can use trusted techniques to ensure websites look consistent across many different resolutions, aspect ratios, devices and browsers. The firm can create all the primary and supporting graphics needed for a polished look. A design firm can also provide valuable insight and advice that could turn an average website identity into something innovative and memorable.