In the lightning-fast e-commerce age, there’s no quicker way to lose a potential visitor than having an unresponsive, difficult to use, or inconsistently branded website. With so many pages to program and perfect on your site, there are always forgotten corners that don’t have the same design flair as the main pages. Unfortunately, this kind of oversight looks downright unprofessional to today’s savvy internet users.
A successful website marries intentional design with great branding to create a seamless user experience—converting casual visitors into loyal repeat customers. Solid branding all through your site will resonate with users and build trust, just like these established and credible websites that have collated the best online casino deals.
Here, we’ve hunted down the most common errors in website branding. Keep reading to make sure your site doesn’t hit any of these off notes!
Error Pages: The Dreaded 404
Coming across an error page is incredibly frustrating when trying to navigate a website. Clicking a link that leads to the dreaded 404: Page Not Found error can be particularly annoying for visitors and leave a bad impression of a company that doesn’t pay attention to detail.
However, using these pages to instill some humor can help. Creating a uniquely branded error page gently guides visitors back to where they should be and takes the sting out of an irritating moment. Better yet, having a branded error page shows that your company cares and helps present a solid, consistent platform for showcasing a more informal brand style.
Thank You Responses or Pages: A Personal Touch
When someone purchases or interacts with your product, they trust you with their personal information and are making a connection with your business. Using a generic thank-you page or response does not hold a lot of appeal or build a relationship with these clients. This is where a properly branded thank-you page can help.
By crafting a custom thank-you page or response to actions like subscribing to a newsletter, registering an account, or making a purchase, you can show genuine appreciation and build your customer relationship. These pages can also suggest related content or direct visitors to another section of your site.
Footer: Down but Not Out
Despite the fact that a footer will appear on every page of a website, many companies put little effort into the design and style of their footer. This is usually one of the last parts to be designed and is often completed under a time crunch. However, not taking the time to design a great footer is a lost opportunity.
A footer adds a significant design element to each page of your website. It is also the perfect place to advertise your social channels, display any required legal jargon discreetly, and help visitors find quick links to useful pages.
Maintenance and Coming Soon: Break or Make
A maintenance or coming soon page may not often be seen by visitors to your site, but when it does load, it can leave a major impression—for good or bad. This impression can easily make or break a user’s view of your company.
Therefore, even though these pages aren’t often used, they should be carefully designed to communicate your brand voice and offer some functionality, such as a contact form. When done right, this type of page leaves visitors feeling less annoyed and more willing to return to see what changes have been made or what new goodies are available on your website.
Search Results: Keep it Fresh
Too often, websites use generic Google-powered search results pages featuring zero customization to match the site’s design. This not only makes a website look tacky and outdated, but it may dissuade visitors from searching for specific content.
Search results should be crafted using the same coloring, font, and style as your main website to avoid this issue. Alongside relevant layouts, this can help provide a cohesive experience when searching and avoid looking like your site has ripped off Google or Bing.
Favicon: A Small but Mighty Statement
A favicon is a small icon next to your page title in the browser tab. This tiny image measures between 16×16 and 64×64 pixels. Despite its small size, it can play an important part in ensuring your brand is consistent throughout your site.
No matter what product or idea you’re selling, your website should have the company’s logo embedded as a favicon on every page. This will keep your brand identity at the forefront and project a professional, put together company image.
Loading Screens: …90% There
Although website optimization is recommended to ensure that your site loads smoothly and quickly, sometimes there may still be a bit of a wait. Rather than annoy users by making them stare at a blank page, consider adding a custom loading page.
Loading screens can provide a canvas for displaying your brand logo and connecting with visitors by sharing your company’s message. Integrating branded graphics and animations can cement your company in users’ minds and mask longer loading times.
Offline Pages: Highly Recommended
Offline pages have grown in prominence since Google released the Dino Game in 2014. Today, almost every browser has a unique offline page that helps keep web users entertained while the site waits to reconnect and finish loading.
Offering a custom offline page for your website can help reinforce brand identity and make your site stand out. That said, very few companies offer this feature, as most rely on a browser to do the work for them.
Password Reset: Making It Easy
Don’t we all love forgetting passwords and having to reset them? There’s nothing worse than navigating this boring task through a bland and boring website page.
While we always hope that users spend as little time as possible viewing this page, it can be a boon to visitor traffic to design this as an interesting landing page.
Reinforcing your brand identity and even adding some humor here can captivate your customers and make resetting a password significantly less painful.
Conclusion
Making simple adjustments to these oft-neglected pages can go a long way toward helping visitors engage meaningfully with your website and make your brand stand out. And in the over-saturated internet marketplace, anything that makes your site more visible has the potential to take your business to the next level.
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