Branding an online shop starts with decisions, not design. Work out who you sell to, what you stand for and why someone should choose you, then write it down in plain words. Only after that is it worth choosing a logo, colours and fonts, because they should express those decisions. This guide covers the steps in the order we would take them.
What a brand is, and what it is not
A brand is the impression people are left with after dealing with your shop. A logo is one small part of it.
- It is more than a logo. The tone of your product descriptions, your packaging, your emails and how you handle a return all shape it.
- It is not only for big companies. A small shop with a clear point of view is easier to remember than a larger one that sounds like everyone else.
- It is not fixed forever. Start simple and refine it as you learn what your customers respond to.
Step 1: Know who you are for
Describe your best customers as specific people, not as “everyone who likes our products”. What do they need, what worries them, and what makes them choose one shop over another?
- Use real evidence: customer emails, reviews, questions to your support team, and conversations.
- Write down who you are not for. It makes later decisions easier.
- Keep it short. A paragraph is better than a long document nobody reads.
Step 2: Say what makes you different
Many shops sell similar products. What is true of your shop that a competitor could not honestly say? It might be how you source products, how well you know the subject, the service you give or the range you choose to stock.
- Pick one or two points you can back up. Do not claim what you cannot prove.
- Check each point by asking, “Would a customer notice this?”
- Write it as a sentence a customer would understand without explanation.
See Brand strategy for how we help owners reach a clear position.
Step 3: Decide how you sound
Your voice should sound like a person your customers would like to deal with. Decide a few simple rules and use them everywhere.
- Choose three or four words that describe your tone, such as “warm”, “direct” and “knowledgeable”.
- Note words and phrases you will always use, and ones you will avoid.
- Read a product page aloud. If it sounds unlike your emails or adverts, adjust it.
Step 4: Choose the visual basics
Once the words are clear, the look can follow them. The essentials for most shops are:
- A logo that is clear at small sizes, such as in a browser tab or on a phone. See Logo design.
- Colours, with a main colour, a few supporting ones and enough contrast for text to be readable.
- Fonts, usually one for headings and one for body text.
- Image style, covering how products are photographed, lighting, backgrounds and cropping.
Step 5: Write it down as brand guidelines
Guidelines turn your decisions into something anyone can follow, from a freelancer to a new team member. They stop the look drifting, which is common as a shop grows.
- Include your position, voice, logo rules, colours, fonts and image style.
- Show what to do and what not to do, with examples.
- Make sure the people who build your store, write your emails and design your adverts all have a copy.
Our Brand guidelines service covers this, and the same guidelines make store changes quicker and more consistent.
Step 6: Apply it consistently
A brand grows through repetition. Check the main places customers meet you:
- Your store, including product pages, checkout and error messages.
- Emails, where design and tone should match the store.
- Adverts, where a consistent look helps people recognise you.
- Packaging and inserts, which are often the last thing a customer sees.
Clear brand information also helps search and AI tools understand who you are and what you sell. See Generative engine optimisation.
Common mistakes
- Starting with a logo. Without a clear idea of who you sell to and why they should choose you, the logo is chosen on taste, and taste changes.
- Copying the market leader. Borrowing a competitor’s look and wording makes you easy to confuse with them, and they will always own it more.
- Describing the brand in words nobody uses. “Premium”, “quality” and “passionate” tell a customer nothing. Say what you actually do differently.
- A logo that only works large. It also has to work as a favicon, a social profile picture and in an ad on a phone.
- Colours chosen for looks alone. Brand colours that fail contrast checks make buttons and text hard to read, especially on mobile.
- Different voices in different places. The ads promise one thing, the product pages say another and the emails sound like a third business.
- Forgetting the parcel. Packaging, inserts and delivery emails are often the last thing a customer sees, and the first thing they remember.
- Guidelines nobody opens. A long document in a shared folder doesn’t help the freelancer writing tomorrow’s email. Keep the rules short and easy to find.
- Rebranding too often. Changing the look every few months means nothing becomes familiar. Recognition is built by repetition.
From experience
Brand strategy is the why and the how. It sets out your positioning and lines everything up behind it, before you make decisions that will shape the business for years to come.
Go deeper
- Brand guidelines checklist for Shopify stores
- How to brief an ad creative designer
- Static ad sizes and formats: a plain guide
Where to get help
If you would like help working out what your brand stands for and how to express it, our brand strategy service is the place to start.
Related services that often go with it:
- Logo design, to turn the decisions into a clear, flexible mark.
- Brand guidelines, so the look and voice stay consistent.
- Generative engine optimisation, so search and AI tools can understand who you are.
Check that the choices work on a product page, in an email, and as a small social image, not only on a design board.
