This article is contributed by George Kent.
I see something strange happening and it could be costing a lot of people money. It all has to do with the logo. Everyone should have a nice logo because it’s what people associate with your website. As soon as they land on your site they should see it and feel safe because they are in the right place.
Most people realize a logo is important, but they still get it so wrong. Let’s look at everything your logo shouldn’t look like if you’re serious about this game. Please remember there will always be exceptions, but unless you’re used to being in the top few percent you won’t be one.
It’s far too big
On every website there is something called premium real estate and this is above the fold. When you land on a website everything you see on the page is where all the important things should go. When people take their logo and splat it all over this area you’re not doing yourself any favors. A huge logo serves no purpose and it’s stopping you from using the area for more important things. Make your logo smaller and keep it to one side of the page.
People can’t read it
People like to be fancy and use these weird and wonderful fonts, but you are the only person who can read it. If anyone else wants to know what it says they need to squint their eyes and look at it sideways. If you choose a simple font you won’t win a beauty contest, but having a successful website isn’t about looking pretty. It’s about people being able to read what’s written and it’s about making lots of money. Forget anything you learned in art school.
What is the picture?
If you’re one of the people who use a picture inside their logo I hope it has a special purpose. I know most people who talk about travel might have a picture of the beach. People who talk about confidence have someone smiling which is even worse. Those are not professional and it’s something an amateur would use. You can actually get a special picture drawn and it should tie in with everything your website stands for.
Get a tagline
When people land on your site they’ll be wondering what it’s about. The domain name doesn’t always give it away as I’m sure you already know. That’s why you need to tell people what your website is about in the tagline. When they don’t know what one is about in the first few seconds they will leave. If you do have a great tagline they could stay and become a loyal customer, so it is important.
Don’t let it look horrible
I can understand why most people can’t design their own logo. It’s hard work and you really need to be a professional. People decide to go out and buy one for $10 and it looks worse than horrible. It’s going to make your website a lot worse than if you never even had a logo. If you need to save up money and get one professionally done then that’s what you should do. It doesn’t need to set the world on fire, but it can’t ruin the look of your website.
Keep it simple
We’ve possibly saved the best piece of advice for last. If you manage to keep something simple looking it’s going to be better. Your logo will be less distracting when someone is on the homepage and you will end up guiding people to where you want them to go instead of having them stare at your logo every 5 minutes. You only need to look at Facebook, Google, and Twitter to realize how effective simple can be.
Author Bio: George Kent is a retired business professional. He has listed some reputable ct seo companies on one of his business websites.
Photo credits:
- too big logo image courtesy of Telstar Logistics via photopin cc
- cannot read logo image courtesy of Kliment* via photopin cc
- what is the picture logo image courtesy of Beverly & Pack via photopin cc
- get a tagline logo image courtesy of ocularinvasion via photopin cc
- horrible logo image courtesy of Daniel Ferencak via photopin cc
- keep it simple logo image courtesy of kevin dooley via photopin cc