A website is one of the most impactful and vital ways a brand tells a powerful story. Like most aspects of a brand story, if done poorly it will hurt a brand. When done well, it will will play a key role in enabling a brand to succeed. A website is a brand’s face to the world and our customers will form an opinion based on our web presence. A website is more than ‘pretty’ and it’s more than SEO.  Building a powerful website is a combination of creativity, smart strategy, and visual marketing. When working with a designer, it is of utmost importance that the designer embrace all the aspects that go into designing a powerful website. A good designer becomes invaluable when the designer’s end goal is to see the client succeed. Often this means reading between the lines and interpreting what the client is saying. This requires a combination of caring, empathy, listening, investment, patience, and determination to make one amazing site. When a designer can do that, you have one fabulous designer.

With the launch of STORY, we knew we needed an updated site that would communicate our message clearly with simplicity while being visually pleasing. We have collaborated with design geniuses Jeff and Jen of Tonic Site on an ongoing basis and I cannot say enough good about these guys! They truly understand the intangible part of design. A website is dreams, goals, message, and future all wrapped up in words, photos and intentional design and that takes some love and care to build that out. Be sure to check out their site and follow these guys, they have a lot of ‘awesome’ in the works for this year!

Jeff joined us today to share three tips on building a successful and powerful website. Keep reading to catch these tips that will make ALL the difference when designing a site.

1. PREPARATION : Do the background work and know what the end goal is. I’ve found it incredibly helpful when a client comes to me already warmed-up. They’ve done some serious thinking, planning, plotting, dreaming, scheming, curating, and refining. And while everything may not be solidified and perfectly refined, they’ve begun the work and have a pretty clear vision of what their intention is with the project and what the most favorable outcome would be if the project were successful. When clients come into the start of a project with this level of preparation, it allows me to really jump into their world straight away and we’re not mucking around in a sea of arbitrary design choices, vague ideal client profiles, uncertainty, or Pinterest idea overload. This allows me to create something with them that meets the intention that they set beforehand and allows me the space and time to then add-to, refine, curate with even further intentionality, and dream up even more ideas to make the re-launch even more effective and a driving force behind further success. Basically, it’s knowing what you want. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll know exactly what you want down to every subtle detail, but you’ll know generally what we’re after and the sorts of things that are important to make that happen. For CHAR Co. they knew precisely where they wanted to take their business at this point in time (and in the future, too), what their aesthetic & style was, who their ideal client was, and what that ideal client wanted and needed from them. So when it came to making design decisions, we had something to check ourselves against — a rubric of sorts — and this not only made for a smoother decision-making process, but also ensured that the output in the end was on point and just what they needed it to be.
2. MESSAGING : Thoughtful and strategic curation is powerful. One of the most powerful tools with regard to brand messaging and ensuring your story is well-articulated is thoughtful and strategic curation. In a world where we’re inundated with thousands of messages and options and choices on the daily, the brands that are thoughtfully curated and perhaps somewhat minimal in offerings comparatively are the ones that are suddenly palatable and much more attractive. Curation aids in limiting that paralyzing sense of overwhelm that comes from too many options. My partner at TONIC — Jen Olmstead — refers to it as the Cheesecake Factory Effect. So. Many. Options. Such that you can hardly even decide and you just order a side salad and breadsticks in a panic. No fun. Isn’t it fascinating how the brands that have a somewhat limited menu of offerings, a clearly defined and consistent vibe and aesthetic, well-articulated messaging and a powerful story, are the ones we find ourselves falling in love with more and more? Those artisan doughnut shops, that small batch distillery, the homewares shop with the carefully selected collection of handmade pottery. And one of the commonalities I see throughout my experiences with these brands is consistent and thoughtful curation and great attention to what story they are telling. It’s a powerful thing my friends, and I think that the more energy we put into curation, the more people will perceive our brands in the way we created them to be perceived.
3. MOVING FORWARD: Your brand is a living creature that is always evolving.
   A helpful headspace to get into with regard to your brand when heading into an overhaul is that your brand is a living creature. It needs constant attention, nourishment, pruning, and, of course, love. As the creative force behind that brand, you have an opportunity (and responsibility) to tend to it with great care but it’s not something that’s a one time, k-thanks-bye thing. And while it may seem a little overwhelming to swallow, I actually think this gives you quite a bit of permission to take it bit-by-bit and frees you up from that ever-nagging feeling of “I have to do all the things right NOW and then I’ll be done and my brand will be successful.” That’s just plain not true. It’s a refinement process and one that never stops. And what’s great about this reality is that neither do we as artists. We’re constantly evolving, shifting and growing and this mindset allows our brands to grow and evolve with us as well.

Thanks Jeff! Did you catch that last line? “We’re constantly evolving, shifting and growing and this mindset allows our brands to grow and evolve with us as well.” Golden advice. 

We hope this helps you lay the groundwork for a successful and powerful site. To learn more about STORY for your brand, get in touch!