WordPress is one of the internet’s most popular website creators.
Its gold-standard, open-source software is free for anyone to use – and with a small upgrade, you can attach your professional domain name to your site.
The low cost and user-friendliness of WordPress mean it is one of the world’s go-to systems for blogging and website creation. It is what’s known as a content management system (CMS).
-min.jpg "How to Brand a WordPress Site (7 Beginner Tips You Can Use Today): eAskme") |
| How to Brand a WordPress Site (7 Beginner Tips You Can Use Today): eAskme |
This allows you to create a website and upload content to it easily from an invisible back end that your website visitors can’t see.
People pay dozens to hundreds of dollars monthly for website management and hosting from proprietary services.
WordPress does not require such an investment. As such, it’s the perfect option for beginners. Still, you’ve got to know how to use it well.
One of the most important aspects of website design is branding.
You want your visitors to feel as though they have a unique experience they can’t find anywhere else.
That means making yourself stand out – which you will have a much easier time doing with the following seven tips. Read on!
1. Set Your Objectives Ahead of Time
WordPress is a simple system to navigate once you get the hang of it.
However, setting up a website will still take hours of your time.
Plan on 10-20 hours, including choosing your brand colors, getting a logo, writing copy, selecting a theme, and loading everything in.
Given the time commitment, it’s smart to ask yourself, “What do I want from this?” Is it sales? Email signups? Meetings? Whatever the case, you’ll want to tailor your web copy and design to it.
PRO TIP: If you’re unsure what your objectives are, it’s time to halt your process and speak with a trusted advisor. You MUST know what you’re trying to achieve before you put up your website, or you are simply wasting your time.
2. Get Your Own Domain Name
This is one of the trickier aspects of WordPress to understand, but also one of the most important.
WordPress software is, as mentioned, free and open-source.
That means anyone can use it. WordPress even provides complimentary hosting if you choose – i.e., a place to keep your website on its servers.
If you choose to use WordPress hosting, you are taking advantage of the WordPress.com arm of the organization.
They will host your site, but they will not give you your domain name – it will end with the WordPress address. So if your business name is Bits and Baubles, your website might read https://bitsandbaubles.wordpress.com. It’s free, but it’s not very professional-looking.
For that reason, most businesses opt to connect their domain names using WordPress.org.
You have to pay for your hosting and domain name, but once you do, you can use the themes and CMS with your domain – e.g., https://bitsandbaubles.com.
PRO TIP: Is your domain name available? Play around on a site like Google Domains to see what’s available.
3. Nail Your Logo
Logos are key. You will use them everywhere, from your business card to the top of your website.
Get yours right by ditching the drawing board and using a professional logo provider.
Human designers abound on the internet, but most are quite expensive.
The best bet is to use an online logo creator, which gives you plenty of options but won’t make you pay until you’re happy with your file.
Remember to use your logo as your favicon as well.
The favicon is the little icon that sits at the top of an open tab, and it’s what shows up on the browser bar when someone favorites your site.
Make the most of this little bit of branding potential!
PRO TIP: If you aren’t confident designing your logo, reach out to a professional designer.
Just note that this will cost money, so it’s best to use an online service that will walk you through the steps and suggest designs that match your needs.
4. Select Your Theme Carefully
WordPress is famous for its wealth of free and low-cost themes.
You have many options and can easily pick one from a theme template site.
As with the rest of its ethics, WordPress themes seek to smooth your transition from an entrepreneur with a pretty good idea to a businessperson with excellent prospects.
Before you select a theme and launch your site, load up enough content that you can see what your theme will look like when filled out.
That way, you won’t find out later if you don’t like it.
PRO TIP: While you can change your themes easily on WordPress, it’s not advisable to do it too often. One of the most important parts of branding is consistency; if you are constantly changing the look of your site, you aren’t very consistent.
Your audience will lose trust, so once you find a good theme, stick to it.
5. Choose 3-5 Brand Colors
Ready? This is one of the fun parts of designing a well-branded WordPress site.
You can play around with colors, matching them up to create a small stable of colors representing you.
Make sure to choose:
- A background color (usually white, though ivory and light grey are also okay)
- A text color (dark grey or black)
- 2-4 other brand colors
Note: if your logo leverages more than white and black, you might want to wait to get it until after you choose your brand colors.
PRO TIP: Are you stumped when it comes to shades? Use a color picker that generates themed color sets or picks out the hues in images and reports them back to you for use.
6. Tell a Story
Don’t forget that WordPress is not just a website design platform.
It’s also a CMS, meaning it’s very easy for you to upload content to it regularly.
Even if you don’t hope to become a well-known blogger, that doesn’t mean you should ignore this feature.
There is a middle ground between throwing up a few web pages when you begin and blogging daily.
Use that middle ground to tell your story.
You can do this in several ways, from creating good foundational content for your Home, About, and Contact pages.
You might also have Shop, Mission, or Work With Me pages – it’s all up to you and your business strategy.
Once you’ve got those pages in the bag, look for other ways to add value to your site.
Will you have news once in a while?
Stick a News link in your menu, then only post to it when you have something to share.
Avoiding the word “blog” can reduce the pressure you might feel to produce when you don’t have much to say.
PRO TIP: If you’re genuinely unsure how to spread your story out across the pages of your site, then sit down at your computer and draft your business’s tale in a Word document.
After you’ve collected a thorough narrative, parcel it out over a few pages of your site.
7. Don’t Forget UX
UX, or user experience, design is key. It dictates how a person will use your site, which in turn dictates the kind of experience they will have.
Before you launch your website to the public, have several people test it out.
- Do they understand how the menu works?
- Can they navigate to every page from every page?
- Do they know how to find what you want them to see (e.g., your shop or forms)?
- And so forth.
PRO TIP: Confused about UX design? You can hire people online to help you tweak your site without paying them to build the whole thing.
There are plenty of places to find freelancers, and many companies will offer this as an à la carte option.
Slow and Steady Wins the (Branding) Race:
It’s tempting to look at the above list and start crying, but … don’t.
Remember the tortoise and the hare?
Be the tortoise, going down the list methodically and ticking off one element at a time. It’s too easy to encounter overwhelmed otherwise.
If you stick with that slow and steady approach, you’ll have a lovely WordPress site before you know it.
Still have any question, do share via comments.
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