Brandcurve - branding and marketing

Online Branding, Website Design & Usability: A Love-Hate Relationship

by Susan Gunelius on August 13th, 2007

Websites provide so many different uses and experiences for customers.  From creating a brand image to making a purchase, companies have a unique opportunity to connect with current, prior and prospective customers on their websites.  That’s why first-class website design is essential.

However, it’s important to remember that your information is only as good as how it is received.  Therefore, it’s critical that you ensure you’re communicating your online information and messages well.  Herein lies the battle between branding, usability and design. 

Your website can do so much for your company but three main components are:

1. Online Branding

A company website can help you create and communicate your brand image.  Online branding ties in closely with the design of your website.

2. Website Design

Creating a user experience is a key component to good website design.  The design should draw the user in and the message (i.e., branding and marketing) should keep them there.

3. Usability

Websites should be interactive and engage users.  The design draws users in, and the design keeps them there and poking around.  Finally, the site needs to be friendly and “usable” in that the user should ultimately be able to make a transaction or at least easily find the information they need.

Unfortunately, there is a battle raging between online branding, website design and usability.  The Disney website is a perfect example of this battle.  Disney does a great job of communicating their brand through a graphically intense, interactive design.  The problem comes with usability.  The graphics are so intense that the various design elements actually detract from the user experience. 

As a user, I find it difficult to find the information I need on the Disney website.  Much of the information available on the Disney site is not offered in text format.  Instead, users are expected to watch a variety of videos (which are really just marketing videos with information contained in them) to get the information they need.  It’s a cumbersome and slow website that detracts from the user experience.

To quote a related post at Frontend.com, “sites such as these must still remember to provide the type of experience that web users enjoy. It has been said before but bears repeating - the web is an active medium, not passive in the way that television is for example. This means that web users are goal-driven and usually seeking specific information or looking to complete a transaction of one type of another. Very few web users go online to enjoy the latest Flash animations.”

Undoubtedly, the war between cool graphics, videos, etc. will continue, but remember, your business is about a lot more than creative design.  Your website should be about more, too.

What do you think?  Can you think of any other websites that are failing in the battle between online branding, website design and usability?  What about sites that are doing a particularly good job of bringing the three together?

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POSTED IN: Online Branding, Uncategorized