Susan Whitmore

Over the last year I have been a student of branding and brand psychology with specific focus on the impact that branding has on web design and online marketing.

In the course of my studies, it's clear that DIY web design and online marketing efforts tend to forgo the importance of branding in their activities.

Why does this matter?

Trust is one of the main reasons that branding is important. If a person is new to a brand then there will be little, or no, relationship established at this point. Therefore, the person will within the first few moments create a judgement on that website or online marketing activity based on whatever branding is included.

• A poorly, amateurish logo will could convey a business that is struggling.

• A generic, shoddy website could convey a business that is untrustworthy.

Struggling and untrustworthy perception of any business is a death-knell to it's future. A good example of this theory is available on Smart Insights.

How can this be improved?

A few easy remedies to fixing these perceptions is to invest your time or your money into improving your online branding.

Quick fixes include:

• Using a colour unlike the majority of your competitors - giving you a point of difference.

• Using a logo that's simple but memorable to your business

I hope this short article, my first, has been useful in going some of the way to improving your understanding of the importance of branding in web design and online marketing. Plus, with the two examples and two fixes, that these can give you some direct guidance on improvements.