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Your professional logo is one of the easiest ways to communicate your brand personality to customers and clients. How it fits into your website design and online presence can make for a better user experience.
After you go through the design process, make different versions of your logo so you can use it anywhere. Then, apply it anywhere your brand shows up, from social media to order packaging.
How to design a business logo
A brand logo should be clear and memorable. Before you start designing your logo, think about how you’d describe your brand’s identity. Different typography, color combinations, and design styles all communicate different things. Your brand descriptors—like “soothing” or “bold”—will help you choose between typefaces and colors when the time comes.
A great logo doesn’t have to be complicated either. The perfect logo might simply be your business name on a colored background, also known as a wordmark or logomark.
There are three main design components of a good logo.
Brand colors: Pick colors that represent the attitude and energy of your business. For example, blues, greens, and beiges can convey calm. A private therapy practice or wellness coach might choose to work with those logo colors.
Fonts: When choosing brand fonts, start by choosing between serif and sans-serif text. Serif fonts have little “feet” on each letter and are seen as professional and elevated. Sans-serif fonts have rounder, smooth letters. These communicate warmth and openness. Serif works well for larger text, like titles, and sans-serif can be easier to read.
Composition: Does the best logo to represent your business have sharp angles and crisp lines with an edge of authority? Or does it have a circular logo that fades to white and communicates approachability? Try out different shape combinations until you find the blend that best represents your small business.
If you’re not sure where to start, try using a logo generator. Many are free and made to walk beginners through choosing a design step by step. Even if you eventually work with a graphic designer to create the final designed logo, these design tools can get you started with some logo ideas.
Design different versions of your logo
Creating a few variations of your new logo gives you more options for where you can use it. Think of your main logo design as your core logo. You can make a slightly different logo design, based on your core logo, for different purposes. Then you’ll have a suite of brand assets to use for your website, social media, advertising, and print materials.
For example, could you stack the words in your business name or show them in a circle? Could you tweak the logo colors or make a monogram version for t-shirts? Is there a highly simplified version that shows just part of your logo or just shows the image part of your logo?
Favicons
A favicon is a small icon that shows up in the browser tab next to your site title whenever someone visits your website or online store. A simplified version of your logo is best for this because favicons are small. Squarespace recommends these be sized between 100 x 100 pixels and 300 x 300 pixels and saved in a PNG file format.
Once you have the file, adding a custom favicon to your website is simple. Not only does it build brand consistency, but it makes it easy for your audience to find your site when they have multiple tabs open.
Where to use your logo online
Once you have a high-quality logo, start using it to show off your brand. Consider placing it anywhere you’d otherwise put your business name on display.
Some of the common places you can use a logo include:
Website navigation menu
Website footer
Social media profiles
Email signature
Marketing emails
Business cards
Navigation menu layouts
No matter which website template you choose, you’ll likely want to place your logo in the upper left corner. Since our eyes often read left to right, this placement ensures that it’s what the reader sees first.
That said, logos aligned in the direct center of the navigation menu can also be a great choice. They create a visual balance between the logo and the menu items, directing the reader’s eyes front and center. Try both and see which feels more user-friendly for your target audience.
Footer logo placement
Your logo should appear on every page of your site, and be prominent on pages that prompt your readers to take an action, like contact forms and checkout pages. Since your footer is displayed across every page of your site, adding your logo creates brand consistency, no matter what page visitors land on.
Brand consistency creates trust with potential customers or clients. Adding in your logo is a simple way to make people feel better about buying from or booking with you.
Social media
Social media is a great place to connect with your customers and reach new potential buyers. Make your logo your profile picture and add it to your link in bio so your current customers recognize you right away.
As you start to reach more people, new customers will start to recognize your logo. You’ll build familiarity with those followers, which will encourage them to buy from you.
Digital marketing
Don’t limit your marketing to social media. Add your logo anywhere you’ll show up in front of customers or business peers. That includes emails to customers, order packaging, business cards, your professional email signature, or your appointment scheduling page.
This is where having different types of logos for different uses comes in handy. As you continue to use your logo, it’ll create a lasting impression on your customers and business partners. They’ll come to associate the image with your business and reputation.
Ready to get your own logo?
This post was updated on April 10, 2023.