Should You Do Your Branding Before Your Website?

If you’re launching a new business, you’ve probably got a to-do list as long as your arm, and somewhere near the top it’ll say “logo” and “website”. It’s really common to wonder which one should come first, or whether you can just do them both at once, so here’s what I usually recommend and why.

Why branding usually comes first

Your branding is basically the foundation your whole website is built on, so your colours, fonts, logo versions and the way you want people to feel all end up shaping every single page, right down to the buttons and the photos you pick. If you do the website first and the branding after, it’s a bit like painting the living room before the plasterer’s been, because you’ll almost always end up redoing bits of it so it all matches, and that means paying for some of the work twice!

When the branding’s done first, though, the website comes together so much quicker, because all the big decisions have already been made. That means I can spend my time on the fun stuff, like making sure your site actually works for the people visiting it and gets them booking in with you. That’s exactly how I’m doing it with Remote Room Therapy at the moment, where the branding’s all finished and signed off, the website can come together really quickly.

What if you need both quickly?

Sometimes there’s a launch date or an event coming up and you need both, and that’s absolutely fine. It’s actually one of the reasons I offer branding, photography and Squarespace websites all in one place, because I can plan the timeline so your branding gets signed off first and the website follows straight on, without you having to brief a second designer or explain your whole business all over again.

If you’re really up against it time-wise, I can pop up a simple holding page for you while the full site’s being built. It’s just one page with your new logo, a line or two about what you do and a way for people to get in touch or find you on Instagram, so you’ve got somewhere to send people straight away and you’re not stuck saying “my website’s coming soon” for weeks on end!

What if you’ve already got a logo?

If you’ve already got a logo you love and some brand colours you use consistently, we can go straight to building your website. If you’re not sure whether what you’ve got is strong enough to build on, that’s exactly what my free brand audit is for, and I’ll tell you honestly whether I’d keep it, tweak it or start again.

How it all fits together with me

My branding packages start at £1,250 and my Squarespace websites start at £1,400. Lots of my clients start with branding, take a few weeks or months to settle into it and then come back for their website once they’re ready, while others book both together so everything launches at the same time. There’s no wrong way to do it, and you can go at whatever pace suits you.

Have a look at my Branding and Web Design pages to see what’s included, or get in touch and tell me a bit about where you’re at.

Love,

Amie x