How to incorporate your brand identity into your website design

2. Styling

The styling of your website should reflect your brand. Style goes beyond your choice of colours and fonts to consider the design elements and functionality of your site.

Imagine if a company was involved in a sector like criminal law, you wouldn’t expect to see lots of cartoon animations or gimmicks on their website. The reverse of this is that an innovative company with a youthful brand identity would be poorly served by a static website that didn’t make use of videos, colour and interactivity. In both cases, the website styling needs to reflect the brand’s sector and personality.

3. Functionality

Consider Apple as a brand. The USP for many Apple products is simplicity and this is reflected in every aspect of their branding from products to packages. Apple trades on a brand image of simplicity, sleekness and efficiency. These are the values customers associate with Apple and it’s the expectation of these that keeps customers loyal. It’s no surprise then that Apple’s website offers a browsing experience that reflects these values. The website design is clean, bold and easy to navigate. 

This synergy of website functionality and brand identity is essential for reinforcing brand identity.

4. Consistency

One of the core principles of branding is consistency. Customers should be able to recognise a brand across all channels, from social media posts to television and print advertising to website design. The same is true within one of these channels. 

Every page of your business website should tie together with the other pages on your site. This synergy of colour, style, tone of voice, layout, page length etc. means that users are presented with a consistent site experience, regardless of which individual pages they visit. You may not notice this brand synergy as you browse, but you’d quickly notice if it was missing. 

5. Imagery and video



Your brand values and ethos should be visible in the media you use on your website. If your brand is based on sustainability and eco values then a website visitor would reasonably expect to see this reflected in your styles and imagery. This could manifest itself in images of trees, oceans, flowers and animals. Equally, if your brand is based on family values or your main customers are parents of young children, you would expect to see children and families feature in your website’s media. 

6. Language and tone

The words you use on your website make a big difference in how people see your brand. Your language should reflect your brand’s character and personality. If your brand is more conservative your customers will expect more formal language on your website. For lighter-hearted brands, your website copy is a great opportunity to highlight your business’ playful and fun side. 

A great example of playful web copy is the ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry’s. The brand is known for its humour and fun personality and this is reflected in the language on the website. Instead of a bland newsletter sign-up call-to-action, the company goes with a far more playful invitation to join their mailing list:

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Not sure how to write in the right tone of voice for your brand? Our Exeter copywriting team can help with website copy that matches your brand’s personality and character. 

7. Your social media

Many customers build connections with brands through social media. You can incorporate your social media into your website design with a feature like a Twitter or Instagram feed. This helps customers to experience your brand across multiple channels and encourages them to connect with you there.

8. Your employees

We build connections with people much easier than we do with companies. Incorporating your employees into your website’s design can help to strengthen your brand identity. The people who work for a business are important to customers. As consumers, we want to know that brands look after their employees. We also value the contribution employees make to a brand - 73% of consumers love a brand because of helpful customer service.

One simple way of incorporating your employees into your website’s design is with a Meet the Team page or by profiling employees or founders on your Homepage or About page. Using employee and manager photos in your hero images also helps build this brand connection and is far more authentic than using stock photography.

9. Your attention to detail!

And finally…when we say you should incorporate your brand into every page of your website we really mean it! That means even your error messages and 404 pages should be recognisably part of your brand. Check out this great 404 page by Lego – it’s playful, features their product and makes an in-joke reference to The Lego Movie.

Get help with incorporating your brand into your website design 

When working on your website’s design you must consider your brand identity and values. Your website needs to communicate and reinforce your brand’s identity. This is much more than a logo or colour scheme, it’s the job of your website to convey your brand’s values, tone, personality, style and the audience it is aimed at. 

Your website should be an extension of your USPs; highlighting all the aspects of your brand that your customers love. If you get it right, you can encourage more of your customers to convert and continue to build brand loyalty through your website.

If you need help with a website design that champions your brand identity, our Exeter web design team is here for you. We get to know you and your business so that we can understand your brand and its values. We then use our web design expertise to create a website that looks great and celebrates your brand identity. To find out more, contact us in Exeter today