Does your website support your brand values and personality?

Your website must reflect what you stand for - your values and culture. This takes more than displaying your logo and having a design that matches your brand colours.

When someone once described the Essentee website (the 2010 version!) they used words such as 'solid' and 'straight up'. We took this as a compliment and felt it probably describes how we approach our business quite well. We are pretty direct, and will tell our clients what we can and cannot do, and why using animated GIF's for navigation is a bad idea. We build websites that work rather than ones that are flashy and don't achieve anything.

One technique often used by designers is to use persona's to describe their target audience.

For example:

Bob is a 45 year old builder. He owns his own business employing five people full time. They specialise in residential and small commercial refurbishments and additions. Bob is married with two teenage children and when he's not working is either watching rugby or at the beach. He describes himself as no-nonsense and doesn't have time for frills or marketing 'fluff'. He is rarely seen out of shorts in the summer and jeans in the winter. He owns one suit that he's had for twenty years that he wears to weddings and funerals.

The product's packaging, communications material and/or website can then be designed to appeal specifically to this audience - which probably means no pink and use of strong earthy colours.

Who are you?

Think about using a similar technique for your website. If your business was a person, who would they be?

How would you describe them? Would they be wearing jeans and a t-shirt or a suit?. Are they professional, or casual and friendly?. Do you want them to get the impression that your business is fun and funky or solid and reliable?