And why your website should be about the user
We know you love your logo. As a small business owner your logo was most likely one of the first pieces of evidence that you were in business. A logo is more than just a graphic – a logo helps form the identity of your business and for that reason you feel its importance should not be diminished in any way.
We don’t disagree with the importance of your logo. We get it. But – we also get web. And your logo should not be a focal point on your website. It should not be made any bigger than the size we make it on the website design we present to you.
We’d like to clear a couple of things up – we don’t just hire graphic designers, we hire designers who get web. Our designers don’t just come to work to design stuff that looks impressive, they come to work to design stuff that works on the web. They consider Google’s guidelines and the experience of your users on a variety of devices. What will best guide your audience to become potential customers? That’s what they focus on.
So when you see your website design for the first time, don’t ask us to make your logo bigger! And don’t take it personally – our designers don’t hate your logo and want to hide it – they have your users in mind. It’s not about making your logo ‘small’ so the designer’s creative work can shine – it’s about demonstrating what you do and where you do it. Most people who find you online don’t know who you are yet, they don’t know your business name and they don’t identify with your logo the way you do. In fact, they’re going to type “plumbers Geelong” into Google and land on the page about plumbing. It’s what you do and where you do it that web users care about. Not so much who you are, at least not in the beginning.
Your website – and entire online marketing strategy – is not about you. It’s about your customers! What gets them interested, excited, what makes them pick up the phone and call you, drive to your shop or purchase your goods. The reason your customers like you is what makes you unique, not your logo and not even your website.
An example other than your website you might like to think about is Facebook pages for business. Facebook allows a small yet appropriate 180 x 180 pixel space for logos on business pages – the size of a thumbnail. If you want to make your logo bigger than the allocated space, you can, but Facebook will still only show 180 x 180 pixels worth of it! The rest will be cut off. The cover image space is a more generous 851 x 315 pixel space. The cover image space is designed to market your business – whether you are showcasing products, services or using it as an educational space. And so the theory is demonstrated that what you do for your customers is more important than who you are. Which is exactly why your logo doesn’t need to be made any bigger.