![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Branding
Prepared by Sarah Marseille
February 14, 2005
By building brands through successful website design, companies such as Amazon and Google have provided themselves with positive reputations and loyal audiences. The ultimate aim, writes Said Rounani in his article, “How to Brand your Website,” is to get people to trust you more than the competition, and to think of your website before they think of the competition’s website. Many experts on website branding stress the importance that function has when trying to create an internet brand. Having a website that is functional in both matters of content and design would be a valuable tool in aiding the work of the Office of Public Affairs at the EPA, and building an internet brand for the agency.
Content
Using content to set the tone and voice of a company’s website is an important aspect of maintaining or building a functional brand. Users visit websites for specific purposes. The better the site fulfills the purpose, the better the user’s experience in dealing with the site ( Spool, “Branding and Usability”). By using consistency in organization and responding to reader feedback, costumers will feel more comfortable with using the website, and be more willing to return to the site in the future. Kelly Goto writes that internet success is rooted in content through the ability of a website to be comfortable, intuitive, consistent and trustworthy. By addressing these needs, websites will be more apt to achieve ongoing success with their audiences. Some general tips in this area include:
- Making sure the homepage explains the purpose of your site clearly (using an “about us” page can achieve the same goal)
- Create an easy way to get “home” from every page
- Make it easy to find what you are looking for
- Searches should only include usable results (not 2,000 non-relevant links)
- Content should be easy to read i.e. no jargon
By making the EPA’s website predictable and providing content in a way that is purely functional, the experience an individual has through the interaction with this agency will be built upon a foundation of usability and brand application.
Design
Much like content, design is an important characteristic towards building a brand that is functional for users. Most all the articles I read stressed the importance of design simplicity sighting Google and Amazon as two websites that maintain a simplistic design to reinforce the functionality of their site. The purpose of internet design should be to create uniformity which can be achieved through use of templates and repetition of the agency’s logo on each page (“Marketing-Branding Concepts”). In general, it is less about how a brand works than how it looks. Jared Spool says in his article, “Branding and Usability,” that “graphical aspects of a site – such as logos or pictures – have much less effect on branding than expected.” This may be because images are often slow to download and can be frustrating for audiences who want information that is quick and doesn’t require time to download (McGovern, “Building Successful…”). The most important advice I have learned about functional design is that pictures or image maps on websites should be present only when they enhance print information, or when they make difficult information more easily understood. Here are some general rules I found when it comes to using design in branding a website:
- Limit use of pictures that take time to download – most website users are ‘scan readers’ who are interested in obtaining information quickly (“Building Successful...”)
- Organize the site in a way that makes sense to the visitor, not according to how your corporation is organized (“Brand Value and experience”)
- Use clear and consistent labeling (“Brand Value..”)
- Organize similar information together on individual pages (“Brand Value…”)
- Repetition of page design and Agency’s logo
Design is important towards maintaining/increasing the ability of a site to be functional for its users. The general rule I found through my research is that simplicity and predictability is best for information presented on the Internet.
Creating a positive user experience on the web is possible through the use of functional content and design. These reoccurring themes of web branding were present in the arguments of each article I found, and seem to stress the importance of overall simplicity when building webpages. Creating a satisfying user experience is vital towards the construction of a brand foundation that is trustworthy and recognizable on the Web. By applying these characteristics to the EPA, the website will provide an important information base for both reporters and constituents, lending itself as a voice of EPA.
Here are some things I noticed on the EPA’s webpage that may be addressed by design and content functionality.
Positives:
- Consistent template for most all EPA pages
- Layout of site is predictable, and easy to follow
- ‘about us’ page gives agency’s mission
- EPA symbol appears on each page
- Link to home page found on every site
Things that could be improved:
- Consistency on WebPages – using the same navigation bar throughout the site?
- The “Regions” pages are each different in terms of the information/layout found on each site
Sources
http://www.digital-web.com/articles/brand_value_and_the_user_experience/
http://www.uie.com/articles/branding_usability/
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2003/nt_2003_02_17_brand.htm
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles/brandingconcepts.htm
http://www.aardvark.co.nz/marketing/branding.shtml
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2001/nt_2001_03_19_branding_for_dummies.htm
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol38/brand.htm
http://www.designstop.com/marketing-promotion/branding/branding.htm
http://www.cio.com/archive/webbusiness/120198_main.html