How to start your Dropshipping business

In this post I will show you how to start your Dropshipping business through a list of simple steps that you could easily follow.

If you read my previous post What Dropshipping is? you already know the basic concepts to encourage you to this new project.

>>> I WANT MY DROPSHIPPING ONLINE STORE <<<

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5 steps to launch into Dropshipping

 

Once you have made the decision to have your business online and that you consider that it would adapt well to this model, let's now see the steps to follow to do dropshipping, from finding product ideas to marketing your online store.

Inicio dropshipping

1. Choosing a niche for your business

Before starting your business, it is very important that you define what you want to sell and how to do it.
To define a market niche, it is essential to decide what your target audience is.
A market niche is a specific category of a business sector.
There the type of products and services, the price range and the quality destined to satisfy the client's needs are determined.

nicho de mercado

In the graphic examples that I will show you in this article and the next one, we will refer to the niche “pet supplies and accessories”.
This is the case of a client of mine for whom I have developed their online store.

 

Here are some ways to choose a niche for your business:

 

  • Determine your interest or passion: Choose a niche with which you are well familiar and which you understand a lot about it.
    Do not get involved in topics that you will not know how to handle with certainty, do it conscientiously and do not improvise.
  • Find a solution: If you have a problem, other people probably have it too.
    Customers will naturally discover your business if you offer solutions to their problems.
  • Research the best-selling products: You can make a lot of money selling products that are fashionable or trending.
    Use tools like Google Trends and TrendHunter , or check popular products on sales platforms to see what people are currently buying.
Trends en articulos para mascotas

In the image above we can see how searches in the world for pet toys have changed in 2021 according to Google Trends.
This tool can give you an idea of what they are the products most sought after by people today, so you can focus on the ones that are popular.
In addition to the popularity of the product, you must take into account the region to which you want to offer your products.
In the above case , my client is located in Los Angeles (CA, USA)

On the other hand, basic products, such as industrial tools, household appliances, entertainment items, etc., are always in high demand.
Bet on a niche with items that people need on a daily basis.
You must consider that you can find a lot of competition in popular dropshipping products, especially from big retailers.

Once you've found your niche, come up with good ideas for your business and make a list of the products you want to sell.

ideas para tu negocio

Choose original products for which it is worth waiting for the delay in delivery and also, that cannot be easily acquired in any commercial premises in your area.
Make the only option to buy them either through an online store ... yours one!

2. Do market analysis

Market analysis is a thorough assessment of your business sector.
It includes an assessment of the target market, the competition, and your brand promotion strategy.

Market research is crucial because it will allow you to understand the needs of your customers.
It is also useful for advertising purposes, to estimate revenues and profits, and to predict the growth of your business.

Do not improvise. Always hire an online marketing professional to advise you.

estudio de mercado

A good market analysis should answer these questions:

 

  • Who are my potential clients?
  • What are your needs and buying habits?
  • How big is the market and how much are they willing to pay for the product?
  • Who are my main competitors?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses?
preguntas marketing

What items should be considered?

The following tips will help you carry out a good market analysis:

 

Research the volume and value of the industry

Detailed statistics on the size, trends, prospects and growth rate, to know if there are enough customers interested in the products you want to sell.

crecimiento del negocio

Define your target audience

Starting with demographic targeting, age range, gender, income level, hobbies, and lifestyle preferences.

publico objetivo

Observe the size of the market and the buying habits of customers

It is important to observe the buying patterns and behavior of people, which will allow you to see what motivates and drives their demands.
By knowing your target market, it will be easier for you to reach them.

habitos de consumo

Research and know your competitors

It is highly recommended that you get to know your committers.
Visit their websites and observe their way of selling and contacting their customers, the general aesthetics of their websites, etc.
You can use tools such as Similarweb and Alexa to find competing sites and examine their performance.

analisis en similarweb

Perform a SWOT analysis to know your strengths and weaknesses

A SWOT analysis consists of evaluating the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of your competitors.
You can always learn from the mistakes and successes of your competitors to create a reference for your business.
This will allow you to innovate in your field . Innovating means “improving what already exists” and that implies being in growth.
In addition, observing your competitors allows you to know the average sale price of a product and the price range.

analisis DAFO

3. Find product providers

Finding dropshipping suppliers will be easier if there is a solid list of products to sell based on the market research you've done in the previous item.

It is essential to find a good dropshipping provider, capable of responding effectively to your needs and those of your customers.

elegir proveedor

Make sure the company is trustworthy, meets your criteria and has an excellent reputation.
You should bear in mind that a supplier will become your "partner" in this commercial activity, and their behavior towards your customers will also speak of you and your business values.

For this reason, it is advisable to order or buy some samples and review them carefully, before publishing them on your website.
As the product reaches your hands, it is how the supplier will deliver it to your customers.

deposito proveedor

Some details to observe

The following tips will help you find a good supplier:

 

  • Check that they are legitimate and legal: Always work with trusted providers.
    Ask for the business license or vendor identification number and verify it on the local government website.
  • Verify the phone number and the address of the company: Make sure you can find the data in Google Maps and they are not registered in the name of another company.
    Check if they have a professional email address domain name, of the type info@yourcompany.com
    If you use free email services or webmail, (Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) it is not reliable, since anyone can obtain those accounts in anonymously.
  • Verify that they have their own website: Having their own website (in addition to publishing on AliExpress) implies being the holder of a document on the Internet and being legally authorized.
  • Find out if they have experienced and attentive staff: Customer service is essential. Don't be afraid to call them and ask them questions.
  • See what other products it offers for sale: A good and varied stock of products shows commitment and commercial experience of the supplier.
  • Always watch reputation: Read other buyers' reviews and ratings.
  • See if the supplier sells on different platforms: Find the same product from the same supplier on AliExpress, Ebay, Amazon, etc., and observe their ratings.
  • Check that the product is of good quality: Do they resemble the photos published on the supplier's website? Does the description on the website correspond to the product?
  • Check if the packaging is presentable and safe: Try to order a fragile item and make sure you receive it in perfect condition.
    See if the suppliers are consistent with the packaging by sending some products to your friends. Make sure that your commercial data does not appear on the package that reveals its origin.
  • Ensure that the shipment and execution of the order meet your criteria: How long does it take to process an order and send it? Do they handle returns well?
rating proveedores

4. Develop an online store

Once you have defined your niche, analyzed the market and chosen your suppliers, it is time to develop your own online store.

If you are not familiar with the subject of web design, I suggest you read my article Requirements to have a website to know the previous steps and everything you need to start your business online.

tienda online

I recommend that you hire a good web designer and webmaster who has experience in e-commerce developments with Dropshipping.
Unlike traditional e-commerce, which is generally developed with WooCommerce, the stores that use Dropshipping are quite different due to to the very nature of the operation of this type of online sale.
Therefore, it is good that your designer is suitable to be able to give you the best performance of your online store and avoid many inconveniences later.

Your virtual store, in addition to being functional, must have an aesthetic and corporate character, which shows business strength, responsibility and commitment to your customers.

tienda online diseño

It is not as easy as it looks

Designing an online store in WordPress is not too complicated, and there are many free video tutorials on the web that encourage you to do it on your own.

What is really complex and requires specialized professional attention is its configuration, functionality and start-up.
Special attention should be paid to optimizing content for SEO and above all, to security to carry out commercial transactions online.

Never dispense with the professional gaze of an experienced designer, who knows precisely the inner workings of a virtual store and will guide you to obtain the best results for your online business.

I know many clients who have wanted to make their own websites and have abandoned it at the first try, since it involves a lot of technical and functional aspects that are beyond their ability to understand.

panel de productos

5. Perform Marketing and SEO

After creating the website, it is time to work on promoting your business.
Do not think that having your own online store has already been solved.
It is necessary to promote it, optimize its contents to be found in search engines such as Google (SEO), conducting online marketing campaigns, etc.

These are some tips that you should consider:

 

Create a landing page or "coming soon" page

This page generates anticipation before the official launch of your store or a product.
Keep it simple as it should primarily display your brand name, logo, and a short description of your dropshipping business.
Feel free to add a couple of product photos, a discount coupon and a subscription form.

landing page

Create social media accounts

Your social networks will allow you to drive traffic to your website and improve your brand presence.
Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest are great platforms for sharing high-quality product photos.

I recommend that you hire a good «community manager» capable of creating their own and original content on your social networks, taking care of the aesthetics and maintaining the graphic coherence of all your publications, to favor your institutional presence.

perfiles sociales

Optimize content for search engines (SEO)

If you do it right, your products will rank high on search engine results pages, increasing the chances that people will click and buy.
Research the most important keywords related to your niche is an essential step when it comes to SEO.
There are online tools such as Keyword Planner from Google and the Keyword Explorer from Ahrefs that can help with the process.
Include the keywords in the names of the products, the descriptions, the labels and the alternative texts of the images.

I recommend you read my article How to improve SEO on your website for more information

optimizacion para seo

Do content marketing

Start by creating a blog page where you can write your own content related to the niche, and articles about your business.
You can write articles with reviews, recommendations, modes of use and benefits about the articles you sell.
This will boost SEO and site traffic.

crear un blog

Update the contents

Take care to add new products regularly, this way you will keep your website active and updated and your store will grow gradually.
Do not allow your store to remain unchanged for a long time, as it does not favor the SE.
Google will consider your contents as little relevant for its indexing in search engines if it does not register changes for a long time.

actualizacion de contenidos web

Create mailing lists for email marketing (Newsletters)

Enable a subscription section and regularly send emails to your subscribers about new products, content, events and offers.
You will not only drive traffic to your site, but you will convert your subscribers into customers.

newsletters

Perform Advertising

If you have the budget to invest in advertising, show product ads through Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
You will get a greater reach and higher conversion rates.
I suggest you do not do it on your own and hire a specialist in online marketing, as it is a very complex subject.
It will allow you to optimize the performance of your budget and the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

advertising

Contact influencers

Taking advantage of influencer marketing is very favorable for your business.
Contact experts in your niche who have a social profile with many followers and propose an agreement to promote each other.

influencers

Find other ways to promote your website

For example, look on Reddit or Facebook groups for people discussing topics related to your dropshipping business.
Don't forget to check the group rules to see if promotions are allowed.

grupo de facebook

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful.
Now you know everything you need to start your Dropshipping business.
If you want to know How to create an online store for Dropshipping, I recommend reading my next article.

If you wanted to have your website and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find some articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read.
I invite you to read them, share them and leave your comments if you wish.
Thank you very much.

>>> I WANT MY DROPSHIPPING ONLINE STORE <<<

Packaging posavasos

What Dropshipping is

In this post I am going to tell you what Dropshipping is, how it works, its characteristics and its main advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional electronic commerce.

This work is the result of an arduous personal investigation when facing for the first time an order from a client who decided to enter the Dropshipping business.
This article is complemented by the next three, where I intend to show you a general idea of what you should know before starting a business as a dropshipper.

I also recommend you read the other 3 posts that I have written about Dropshipping, which are the following:

Throughout the 4 posts I will refer to specific examples of work requested by my clients and you can visit their respective websites to see the results obtained.

Do you know what Dropshipping is?

Dropshipping is a type of online sale where the seller does not have in his inventory the products offered in his own virtual store.
Therefore, the merchant buys inventory from a third party as you need to fulfill your customers' orders.
This third party is generally a wholesaler or even the manufacturer of the product itself, and can be domiciled anywhere in the world.
The vast majority of suppliers of dropshipping are of Chinese origin.

esquema dropshipping

>>> I WANT MY DROPSHIPPING ONLINE STORE <<<

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Packaging posavasos

How does a Dropshipping business work?

Although the literal translation of Dropshipping is "direct sale" it is actually a "Triangulation of shipments" , where the seller is an intermediary between supplier and buyer.
As a seller, you must find wholesale suppliers that make the products you want to sell.

Then, the items will be listed in your own online store, where customers place their orders and pay you for the product and shipping costs, if any, as some wholesalers offer free shipping.
You receive the order with the buyer's data as if you were a traditional online store.

Triangulacion de envios con dropshipping

The commercial operation is summarized in three steps:

  1. The customer buys from your online store at a retail price, including shipping costs.
  2. You charge for the purchase on your website and send the order to the supplier, paying the wholesale price and shipping.
  3. The supplier will process the order, package and ship the products directly to the customer.

In other words, you only help the customer to buy the product.

In the dropshipping business, it is not necessary to manage inventory management systems, warehousing, shipping costs and logistics.
However, dropshippers have to calculate the prices of the margins, do the marketing of the product and generate business ideas .
Also, if a customer encounters a problem with the shipment or the product, they will contact you first and not the supplier.
That is why I advise you to provide good customer service.

Differences between dropshipping and traditional e-commerce

Before starting your business with Dropshipping you should know the main differences with traditional e-commerce, which we can summarize in the following aspects:

 

Delivery times

One of the main differences with traditional e-commerce is manifested in the time that elapses between making the purchase and receiving the item by the buyer.

Whenever we talk about Dropshipping we will have "deferred terms" that can be extended between 5 and 45 days from the purchase.
This depends on the type of product, its geographical origin, its supplier and the type of shipment.
The most of the suppliers are in China and that represents such a delay in final delivery.

The wholesaler is the one who establishes delivery times and manages possible returns, disregarding the seller from any participation in said process.
For this reason, it is advisable for the buyer to know in advance that your online store uses the dropshipping method .
That is a difference perceived by the buyer.

tiempos de entrega

Triangulation of shipments

Another important difference, (this time perceived by the seller) is the one referring to the dropshipping operating system that I mentioned earlier.
This is that the supplier automatically receives the same order form as you, and sends the products directly to your customers.
This means that you never see or manipulate the products you sell, and you ignore much of the management of shipments to the buyer.

Therefore, the supplier is in charge of storing, packaging and shipping the products to customers on behalf of your online store.
The supplier automatically charges “its share” corresponding to its own cost of the product and shipping, and you earn the difference.
In this way, the traditional logistics of e-commerce changes completely.
Your online store is only responsible for managing customer orders, billing and generating a database.

On the other hand, in traditional e-commerce stores, the seller has a stock of products, manages the orders and makes the delivery to the customer.

asi funciona dropshipping

Absolute privacy

Your customers at no time know or can have contact with the supplier, nor do they know their prices or your profit or profit margin.
The shipment is dispatched as a "masked package" that does not include logos or inscriptions.
By therefore, the supplier ships and delivers the products anonymously. No identification on the package will indicate the actual origin of the product.

Privacidad

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dropshipping

The Dropshipping business has grown in popularity around the world in recent years.
Like any business model, it has positive and negative aspects that it is important to consider before starting our project.

Let's review what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of Dropshipping.

ventajas y desventajas del dropshipping

Advantage

  • Getting started is easy: Unlike other ventures that require following some complex procedures and having certain resources (a local store, merchandise warehouse, employees, logistics, etc.) you only need to have a laptop and a stable internet connection.
  • Flexibility: When conducting business through a laptop, you can work from anywhere, even from your own home or office.
    You only need to communicate with suppliers and customers to manage and manage your business with ease.
  • Menor capital inicial: La mayor ventaja de dropshipping es que se puede lanzar una tienda online sin invertir demasiado dinero por adelantado.
    Sólo pagas el diseño y puesta en marcha de la tienda virtual (Lee mi artículo Requirements to have a website para más información)
  • Low cost: You don't have to think about inventory costs or hire employees to take care of it. You don't need to buy a product unless you've already sold it and received payment from the customer.
  • Very few fixed and / or maintenance expenses: By not having to deal with purchasing inventory and managing warehouse, the fixed costs are very low.
    You pay your webmaster for it maintenance of the online store and / or the publication of products, in case you do not want to do it yourself.
    It is also advisable to invest in product marketing, publication on social networks, campaigns aimed at improving SEO, advertising, etc.
  • Wide selection of products: Since you don't need to buy items to sell in advance, you can offer a wide range of products to your potential customers.
    If the suppliers have it in stock, you can include it in your web catalog at no additional cost.
  • Sale of several products: You can sell the products of more than one supplier and not limit yourself to a single type of product.
  • High scalability: By having the freedom to choose products and be able to try different providers, a business of this type can grow rapidly.
    For your business to be scalable you must have a robust e-commerce and well developed.
    Contact a web designer who has experience in designing this type of online store.
  • Lower Labor Demand: Most of the order processing work will be done by suppliers, allowing you to expand with lower costs and labor.
ventajas de dropshiping

Disadvantages

  • Very hard competition: There are many people who participate in the dropshipping business, so you will have to work hard to stand out, with a greater investment in your online store, social networks, advertising, etc.
  • Low profit margins: Since you are faced with many sellers, there may be a price war.
    Which means you should set your price as low as possible to make your offers more attractive .
    But this can be avoided if you can find a niche of low competition products to sell.
  • Problems with suppliers: Your business can fail if you choose a disreputable supplier.
    A bad supplier can ruin your online presence with shipping errors, poor packaging and delayed responses.
  • Lack of control over shipments: If a customer orders products from different suppliers, they will have to pay for more than one shipment and it is likely that the orders will arrive at different times.
    This can make things difficult when handling sales.
  • Inventory difficult to manage: You need to be aware of and frequently track your supplier's inventory to match the amount of stock available in your store.
    Although the products in your store are synchronized with the stock of your suppliers, you must be aware of availability and "pause" the products without stock to avoid inconveniences.
  • Shipping logistics can get complicated: If you work with multiple suppliers, the products on your website will come from multiple dropshippers. This complicates your shipping costs.
    Suppose your customer orders three items and they are all available, but from different suppliers.
    You will have to pay three separate shipping costs to ship each item to the customer.
    It is not advisable to pass this charge on to the customer, as it can make shipping too expensive.
    But do not be discouraged, there are thousands of products that offer free shipping, so I recommend that you choose those items to offer them in your store.
  • Customer service: The seller is the one who is directly connected to the customer. So if there is any problem, you will need to take care of it.
  • Drowback to build an online brand: When sending third-party products and not participating in the shipment, you will not be able to include any type of brand logo on the products.
    This is usually an important factor in the Internet sales.
  • Risk of supplier errors: Even the best dropshipping suppliers make mistakes when completing orders; for which you will have to take responsibility and assume them.
    Mediocre suppliers will cause you inconvenience by losing items, ruining shipments and using poor quality packages, which can damage the reputation of your company.
    That is why I always advise you before to publish products in your store, check the reputation and responsibility of each supplier, and that they have robust logistics to reach your customers.
    I suggest you contact them and inform them that they will be "allied partners".
Competencia

What profit do I get with Dropshipping?

The seller receives a commission or fixed amount on each sale, and makes a profit by taking advantage of the margin between wholesale and retail prices.
You must configure a series of formulas that are automatically applied to wholesale prices according to the value of each product , and that will determine your profit.
Generally the suppliers are Chinese wholesale companies that publish their products on portals such as AliExppress, Ebay, Amazon, etc. from where you will take the articles to add to your web catalog.

logos tiendas

The prices published in these megastores are very low since they are wholesale prices, your customers will not find those prices in traditional retail stores.

Your mission as a seller is to offer those same products in your own online store, with a personalized design and with your own sales prices.
In this way, your customers will never know the real origin of the product you are selling.
I am not referring to the country of origin of the product, but to the place where you purchased it.

For this business to be profitable, you must think about the price of the product you offer.
Your profit is simply the difference between the cost of your own purchase and the money you asked your customer for.
Therefore, the difference between the sale price of the wholesaler and the price that you can set as a retailer, it can be really very convenient and thus justify having an online Dropshipping store.

compra cliente

Why would a client buy on my website if these megastores exist?

Surely you wonder why they would buy from you, being able to pay a much cheaper price for the same product.
Many customers prefer to buy in specialized stores, as if they were local stores instead of large supermarkets.
Not all people they feel confident to buy in mega stores, and much less if they are Chinese or are in another country.

Taking this example to everyday life, you would choose to buy your weekly or monthly purchases in a large supermarket, where you supply yourself with a wide variety of products. (food, cleaning, etc.)
But when you need to buy something more specific (clothing, electronics, machinery), you choose a specialized store that only sells what you are looking for and can give you more advice.

comprar con celular

Your accessible, friendly and reliable store

A retail "theme" store is reduced to a specific niche and the customer is not distracted by thousands of products that do not interest him.
In addition, it provides the customer with a friendly and reliable trade image, where a specialized person can answer their questions. concerns.

On the contrary, these mega stores offer a very poor post-sale service, where anonymous people who do not speak your own language respond.
They generally use automatic online translators and the results can be very imprecise, generating distrust or fear in The buyer.

When a customer buys from a dropshipping store, they are paying for accessibility to the product, which they probably would not have known without us.
This accessibility is not only manifested in the price but in the way we present the product in our store online.
They should always be displayed in a simple, limited way, with detailed information and with an excellent design.

El cliente paga por la comodidad y experiencia de usuario de nuestra tienda, y también por la atención al cliente y confianza que le damos.
Con el marketing que realizamos del producto estamos aumentando el valor percibido que, junto a lo anterior, justifica el precio que le ponemos.
Esto nos permite vender el producto a un precio mayor (minorista) del que lo adquirimos (mayorista), y esta será la base de nuestra ganancia.

I suggest you read my article How to start your Dropshipping business for more information.

comprar online

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it was useful to you.
The possibilities that Dropshipping offers you are so many, that there is definitely no reason not to try to start your own business.
Si quieres saber How to start your Dropshipping business lee mi siguiente artículo donde encontrarás unos cuantos consejos y sugerencias para tu emprendimiento online.

Si te dieron ganas de tener tu tienda virtual y consideras que soy un profesional idóneo, no dudes en contactarme que te asesoraré con mucho gusto.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

>>> I WANT MY DROPSHIPPING ONLINE STORE <<<

Packaging posavasos

How to start a website design

In this post I will show you how to start the design of a website.
You will know the steps to follow in the development and how you should collect the information of the contents to present them to your webmaster.

Once you have met the Requirements for have a website that I explained to you in my previous article, you will be in a position to move forward to make your website concrete
You may not know where to start and that is why I present you an organization guide that you can follow very easily.

>>>  I WANT MY WEBSITE <<<

Packaging posavasos

Responsive website

Make sure your designer develops a responsive website, also called responsive web design, adaptive web design or responsive web.
This is a web development standard whose objective is to adapt the appearance of the pages to the device that is being used to visit them .

responsive web design

Today web pages are seen on a multitude of devices such as tablets, smartphones, e-books, laptops, PCs, etc.
In addition, each device has its specific characteristics: screen size, resolution, CPU power, operating system or memory capacity, among others.
In addition, each device has its specific characteristics: screen size, resolution, CPU power, operating system or memory capacity, among others.
Google requires that sites be responsive to be indexed in their search engines, so if your website is not, you are left out ...

The following image shows a display scheme on a phone between a non-responsive and a responsive site, where the prioritization of readability is observed.

comparacion responsive

What information should you provide to your webmaster?

You need to know in advance what you want to communicate and show through your website.
What are the values you want to convey, what target audience are you targeting, who are your competitors and what image do you want to show about your business, activity, or your own person.

You should take a prior time of analysis, which will allow you to "filter" the contents of your website, define the aesthetics and essence of your project, and also at the level of language that you will use in the texts and images.

estrategias y organizacion web

Observe your competition

Surely you are not the only person or company in the world that carries out a certain activity and wants to show it on the web.
I advise you to see similar sites of your possible competitors, and make a list with the web addresses of their respective sites.
This is not to imitate or copy them, but to "innovate" communicational concepts and obtain a better result.
Innovate means "improve what already exists" to obtain a new quality standard.

The following image shows different websites of companies in the "openings and enclosures" category in Argentina.

observar a tu competencia

Each web development requires a prior analysis to obtain a “know-how” (knowing how to do something).
That is why we assume that each site you have visited has already done it previously (good or bad).
This allows you to take already tested starting points and adapt them to your own identity and needs.

Performing a criticism and evaluating the successes and failures of your competitors will allow you to optimize the results you are looking for.
Do not forget to always consult your webmaster about the content, since he will surely have much more experience than you and will know how to advise you correctly.

 

Collect information for your website

This may be perhaps the most complex part for you, as it requires your participation and teamwork with the webmaster.
Do not be discouraged if you do not know how to start, since many times it is very difficult to talk about yourself .
But do not try to delegate all the work to your designer, since he does not know your history, your company, your goals, or your ideas.
In that case I suggest you tell him your needs so that he can draw up an organization chart and they can solve each stage of web development together.
Once you have passed this initial stage, everything will be on track and your participation will be minimal.

contenidos web

Next, I show you some items that you should have before ordering your website.

organigrama diseño web

1. Organizational structure of the website (Sections)

Your website must be divided into sections to facilitate online browsing and organize the contents.
These sections have very general themes, so that the user can find them easily.
They tend to be quite similar on all websites, and it is good that they are, since users are used to these structures.

Depending on the type of site you have, a basic organization could be the following:

 

  • Home Page: Presentation, welcome, general description, offers, promotions, etc.
  • About (Institutional): Who we are, Professional Staff, History, Mission, Vision, etc.
  • Services: Description of services offered to the client.
  • Products: Product catalog with specific descriptions.
  • Publications: Dossiers, brochures, magazines, etc.
  • Media: Photo and / or video galleries
  • Agenda of activities: Events, presentations, etc.
  • News: Launching of new products, services, offers, promotions, etc.
  • Tidings: Related to your activity or your market.
  • Press and Communication: Press releases, gazettes and flyers in graphic, radio, web and TV media.
  • Social media: Access to social networks. All content can be shared directly from the website.
  • Blog: Informative or thematic posts, outstanding information for clients, etc.
  • Customer service: After sales service, technical advice, etc.
  • Downloads: Allows the user to download documents, publications, audios, videos, spreadsheets, etc.
  • Contact: Contact modes, telephones, mail, form, geolocation through Google Maps and QR code.
  • WhatsApp Chat: Allows you to chat directly from the website using an always visible button.
organigrama web

Each section forms a separate page within your site that can contain one or more related topics.
I suggest you keep the section titles very short, as these define the names of the main menu buttons.

The following image shows the main menu with the sections of the site, and a drop-down menu for related sections.

menu principal

2. Textual information

It is very important that you spend some time writing the texts that describe your business or activity that you will include on your website.
It will depend on them whether your site is found in content search engines such as Google.
If you really want to have content effective on your website, I advise you to hire a "copywriter" service, a professional dedicated to writing persuasive texts to capture the interest of your users.
You will know translate the textual information for your site and social networks into the correct words, and get the best out of it aimed at promoting SEO.

copywriter

General descriptive texts

Even if you do not hire a copywriter and decide to write your texts personally, I advise you to do it consciously and with criteria.
The descriptive texts will define each section of your website that you have created in the previous item.
I advise you to be short and concise. Do not go too long in telling your whole story unless you think it is essential.
People do not have time to read texts that are too long, especially if they view them on mobile devices.

These texts should not include more than one or two subtitles and a few short paragraphs with generalized information.
In this way, you are showing the user a quick-read overview of what they can find on your website, and invite them to find more detailed information in other specific sections of the site.
Make sure you use language that is clear and without too many technicalities, that it is not boring and that can be understood by a wide section of the community.

textos generales descriptivos

Content or informative texts

Unlike descriptive texts, content or informative texts should be longer, detailed and detailed.
They can contain specific technical concepts and a more appropriate language if you consider it necessary.

These texts are aimed at a more selective target that has the need to obtain precise information about a particular topic.
They can be included in the blog section, product details, modes of use, technical information, etc.

The texts must include phrases and keywords to promote SEO and it is very important that you consider this concept from the beginning of the work.
These key phrases or sets of words are what users type in a search engine like Google to obtain results and thus access your own content, so you should think about them "from the user's point of view" more than from your own gaze.

All texts must be delivered in digital format (Word or similar) already written, corrected and in their final extension, and may be reviewed and corrected by the webmaster to optimize SEO.

The following image shows the technical description of a specific product on a catalog page.
Texts in yellow represent SEO key phrases (words that a user types in Google when performing a search)
Texts in light blue indicate the results obtained by the search engine according to the relevance of those keywords.
This is the reason for the meticulous writing of the contents oriented to favor SEO.

textos de contenidos seo

3. Images and Videos

I advise you to include photographs, graphics and videos of your activity, company, products or services among the aforementioned texts.
Photographic and multimedia images (video and audio) are very important for the composition of your website.
It is boring and tedious for the user to read large extensions of texts without the presence of descriptive images.
I suggest that you always use good quality original photos of your own.

You can also use images obtained from the web that are not subject to copyright , since you could face legal claims from third parties.
The fact that you can download photos free from the web does not mean that you have the right to use them freely.
Make sure to check the copyright-free use of images.
There are several sites that allow you to download these types of images for free, and they are identified as such.

The following image shows original artworks by an Argentine plastic artist on her own website.

Imagenes originales

The professional glance of the seasoned photographer

Try to hire a specialized photographer, who will have a much more effective and professional look to show your work in the best way and create good original content.

If you do not want a professional, try to take your own photos with the best possible quality and taking into account the context and the environment.
Avoid seeing unnecessary elements in the background and always taking care of lighting and framing.

I always advise my clients that once they have their website, they obtain quality visual content of their activities, production, events, etc.
This will be very useful for your website and your social networks.

Read my article How to get the best return on photos of your products to learn more about photography for the web.

 

fotografo

Photo nomenclature

In order to facilitate the work of your designer and favor SEO, I suggest you name the digital files in a logical and concise way, for example: smartphone-samsung-galaxy-s10-black.jpg

Never leave the default name as it comes out of the camera (ex. Pic0024585.jpg)

Your designer does not know your content and Google does not like those names and ignores or penalizes them.

All images must be delivered in digital format (JPG or PNG) in good resolution and size.
Logos are preferred in vector format (AI, EPS, CDR or similar) or in its default in high resolution JPG or PNG.

4. Content optimization for SEO

As I mentioned before, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) consists of the conscious and strategic optimization of the textual contents of a website so that they can be recognized by search engines such as Google.
It is an additional service to web design but absolutely necessary and I recommend you not to do without it.

All content will be configured using keywords and textual definitions that favor the intelligent performance of searches.
For this reason, the designer is likely to adapt the wording of the texts to these requirements.

This does not imply the application of online marketing strategies or advertising campaigns through sponsored links on Google.

Read my post How to improve SEO on your website for information and tips on optimizing your website.

The following image shows an outline of how a content search engine like Google works.

como funciona un buscador

5. Social Networks

It is important that your company or enterprise has in addition to the website, its profiles and channels in social networks, and that these have the same criteria of design, aesthetics and communication.
Having social networks multiplies the possibilities of visualization and presence of your website.
All the contents of your website can be shared directly on all social networks with a single click, allowing access to your pages from the same posts.

In the following image we can see how to share a page on Facebook from a website and the result obtained.
Note that the posting refers directly to the website, so that clicking on it redirects the user to the website of origin.

sahre en redes sociales

If your website includes videos, I advise you to previously upload them to your own YouTube or Vimeo channel and not to third-party channels, since they will favor user traffic to those channels and not yours.

youtube canal

I recommend that you hire a good «community manager» capable of creating their own and original content on your social networks, taking care of the aesthetics and maintaining the graphic coherence of all your publications, to favor your institutional presence.

6. Google Business Profile

If your website has customer service and a postal address, I advise you to have a Google Business Profile where you can define days and hours of attention and geolocation using Google Maps , which will provide you with new access channels to your website and will facilitate your SEO positioning.
You will also be able to integrate geolocation to your social networks and your followers will be able to add your location in your posts.

The use of maps helps a lot to locate your web oriented in geographical areas and they are very effective on mobile devices (phones and tablets)

mapa geolocalizacion

7. Web content updates

Finally, I advise you to always keep the content updated, remove obsolete information, renew images and add new sections of content.
This will make your visitors feel attracted to your site, they will return periodically and your site will grow.

There is nothing more negative for users than returning to a website and always seeing the same thing. That speaks of stagnation, a tedious routine, a lack of creativity and motivation.
And not only will your users get bored and won't come back. Google will also lower your ranking and your SEO, since its "spiders" will stop indexing your site by not registering updates and it will not be considered relevant for the results of their searches.

actualizacion de contenidos web

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful.
Now you know everything you need to have in order to start your website and how to approach a project with your webmaster

If you wanted to have your website and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

>>>  I WANT MY WEBSITE <<<

Packaging posavasos

Requirements to have a website

In this article I will show you all the prerequisites you need to have your website.
You may not know how to start, who to hire, and you do not know the production costs, the formal aspects, etc.
Here you will know the language related to web design and the steps to follow in the development of your website.

If what you need is an online store, I suggest you also read my article Requirements to have an online store, where you will find more detailed information.

>>>  I WANT MY WEBSITE <<<

Packaging posavasos

Requirements to have a website

These are the fundamental elements that you have to have to start your business on the internet:

1. Define the site name

The first thing you should do is define what your website is going to be called.
It is important that "googlees" the name chosen to verify that it does not exist, both on the web and in social networks.
Although it is very common for names to be repeated, it is not recommended that there be two identical names.
This, in addition to bringing legal problems, can harm you by taking your visitor traffic to other similar sites that are not yours.

In this case, you can add additional words that have to do with the activity you carry out, the type of company formed, etc.
The name is directly associated with the domain , which I will explain to you in the next item.
Therefore, you should also think about it strategically to favor SEO (search engine optimization like Google)

 

Complementary aids

If your website represents an activity, type of product or service, it is advisable that the keyword that represents it is part of the name.
Also, if your site is Developed in WordPress, it allows you to add short secondary text as a description or slogan that complements the title.

 

Example: FVA Packaging. Printings for gastronomy.

Logo FVA Packaging

In the previous example, the name is “FVA” , the activity is “Packaging” and the brief description is “Printed matter for gastronomy”
And so, in a few words, 3 very important elements for online search are resolved: the name, the activity and the description.

 

Optimize web positioning

This favors SEO since the search engine tracks keywords in the title of the pages, in the domain name, in the headlines of the articles on each page, in the texts and in the names of the images.
The more times these keywords are repeated, the higher their search engine performance.
In this way, whoever writes the name in the search engine, will also obtain results relevant to the activity and will filter it among several similar options.

In addition, the set of the name and the description is the one that is displayed in the following places:

  • Google search results.
  • Web browser title bar.
  • Favorite bookmarks, along with the site avatar.

Always consult your webmaster before choosing the name of your site, since it will surely know how to guide you and prevent you from making common mistakes.

busqueda google

This is how the name is displayed in Google search results

nombre navegador

The name of the site is displayed in the title bar of the web browser

nombre-favoritos

This displays the name in Favorite bookmarks, along with the site's avatar.

Unification of criteria

If you want to achieve a better presence of your brand on the web, I advise you to unify the name criteria, and use the same name both for your website and for your social networks.
This will make it much easier for users to locate you quickly and avoid confusion with users with similar names.

Just as the name should be unified, the design criteria and general aesthetics of your site and social networks should also be unified, helping to position your brand and strengthen your visual identity on the web.

nombre unificado

2. Web Domain

The domain is your web address, something like your postal address.
It is what we all know as www.yourcompany.com.ar, and it is the type in browsers to access a website.
This domain is unique and unrepeatable. There cannot be two identical domains, although they are similar.
Generally, your domain will be the same or similar to the name of your website, so you should check the availability of your domain name provider (Who is).

In the example in the following image we are looking for the availability of the domain idiliocrepuscular.com.ar

dominio disponible

A legal issue

The fact that a domain name is available for acquisition does not mean that you also have ownership of the brand or the name of the site.
They are very different things, and if you want to register your name as a brand, you should do it first in the corresponding entity, and then register the domain, to avoid third-party property claims.
It is likely that there is already a trademark with your name or similar and that it does not yet have its website.

Always consult your webmaster before registering a domain, as they will surely know how to guide you and prevent you from making common mistakes.

 

Locate on the map

The national domains (.com.ar) refer to Argentina, they are acquired through NIC.AR and you must previously be registered in AFIP to qualify and be the owner of a domain.
They have a valid for one year and are renewed at each expiration.
The lack of domain renewal will make your site go down and remain offline, with all the consequences that this may bring you. Therefore, I recommend that you schedule the expiration dates.

Being the owner of a domain certifies that you are a real natural or legal person, with a verifiable postal address and that you are authorized to carry out safe commercial activities protected by the legal regulations of your country.
In this way, profiles and companies are avoided "Ghosts" that abound in social networks, where users can be scammed without the possibility of claiming anything.

empresa fantasma

An international domain (.com) does not refer to any country and is acquired through companies or websites that sell domains.
You do not need to register in AFIP and they are widely used by multinational companies .

 

Ownership and possession

The owner of the domain must always be the client.
Never accept that someone acquires your domain in their name, since in the future you could have legal problems of ownership or commercial use.
You can ask your webmaster to advise and guide you in the acquisition and renewal of domains.

dominios web

3. Graphic and Web Designer

Once you have decided to have a website, the first thing you have to do is to hire a good graphic and web designer, who is capable of developing a customized virtual business, with efficiency and responsibility.
I advise you to be your designer web is also your webmaster, since you will have a global vision of the development of your website and its correct operation.
The designer must be able to advise you at each stage of web development, content presentation, choice of images and structure of the site to do it correctly.
Never dispense with the work and professional look of a good web designer.

 

Very tempting offers and the myth of self-management

There are dozens of online platforms (free and paid) that allow you to build and manage a website yourself, with little knowledge and at a very low cost.
They are really very easy to use through pre-designed templates where generic elements are replaced for your own content, as if it were a puzzle.
What these platforms do not tell you is that you need to have knowledge of web content, digital image editing, web positioning, etc.
You also do not have a personalized and human support to resolve your queries and concerns.

Surely you have already tried and carried it out and you will feel very happy about it ... at first ...
Things do not usually work very well in "automatic pilot" mode, at least for a long time, much less when you involve your customers in your online business.
Making an analogy with everyday life, a site with these characteristics would be like a prefabricated house .
On the outside it seems a house, but the living experience is very different from one designed by an architect and built with materials that will last over time.

plantilla web

The professional glance of the graphic designer

A website is much more than what is seen online.
A good site must be functional and effective, compatible with mobile devices, social networks and must answer all the technical questions of the Internet.
The contents must be strategic and original, the images must be optimized for quick download.
The texts must be relevant to be found in search engines, the internal organization of the site must be pleasant and dynamic, etc.
In addition, there are many elements Internal that are not visible, but are essential for the proper functioning and security of the online site, and that only a professional and experienced designer knows.

A good designer must have a perfect knowledge of graphic design, web design, WordPress, Photoshop, HTML5 and CCS3 programming, databases, hosting servers, web security protocols and, above all, must know how the site works online from the user experience and know in advance what the user expects from your website.
These are vitally important factors that make your site effective and avoid complications that surely you will not know how to solve and lead you to the failure or abandonment of your online venture.

diseñador web

4. Webhosting

Webhosting is an outsourced service.
It is a virtual space that is contracted on a server to host (host) a website and it is who allows this site to be active.
It is generally paid in advance and periodically (annually, semester, monthly , etc.) depending on the company.
The web hosting provider also provides you with various tools related to your domain: create custom email boxes (eg info@yourcompany.com.ar) , create sub domains, databases, obtain statistics on your website traffic, technical service, etc.

webhosting

Magic solutions

NEVER choose a free web hosting service if you want to have a professional, reputable and secure website.
These sites offer you very large spaces (in megabytes) where you can upload whatever you want without paying anything.
In exchange for That, they bombard you with advertising banners, which in addition to being very annoying and unprofessional, take you to unknown sites, unsafe and vulnerable to viruses.
In addition, they will obtain private information both from you and from your followers that favor spam, hacker attack, identity theft and many other computer crimes.
All this is considered a terrible Internet practice and Google will block your site from their search engines.

Going back to the prefab analogy, web hosting represents the terrain where you will build your house, and you wouldn't want to do it on a swamp or unstable ground.

 

Other tempting options

Many telephone companies, TV or Internet providers offer an "additional" web hosting service.
In my professional experience I have had clients who opted for this, but they have never been effective, since it is not a "dedicated" service but "additional" to the company that offers it.
The problem arises at the time of technical inquiries due to malfunctioning of the site, server crashes, etc.
These are not answered as soon as possible by qualified personnel, and the client does not understand what they are talking about since they do not understand the terminology.
In addition, these companies only offer the web hosting service and not the webmaster service, and the client does not know that, and when it comes to adding costs, it is much more expensive than hiring a professional dedicated web hosting service.

hosting web

Always prioritize quality

It is very important to hire a "dedicated" webhosting service that is of very good quality, compatible with WordPress, and that provides SSL (https) security protocols that will allow you to carry out commercial transactions safely through your website.
Secure sites that comply with these standards are identified with a padlock icon and the “https” protocol in the web browser.
You can always trust them sites that meet these characteristics.

sitios seguros

The following image shows what the servers of the web hosting providers look like.

servidor web

Unify maintenance tasks

I suggest that your webmaster is also the one who provides you the webhosting service, since he will surely have experience working with such a company and there is a communion of teamwork between the two endorsed by years of experience.

5. Webmaster

A webmaster is a graphic and web designer who designs your site or your store, manages the contents, updates the templates and plugins so that your site is always safe and solves technical problems that may arise.

Never think that your designer is a multi-tasking kiosk that solves everything, and although we have global knowledge on many topics, we are not competent in all areas. In design there are also specific tasks for each need.
In design there are also specific tasks for each need.
Seguramente no le pedirías a tu médico cardiólogo que te recete gafas para ver mejor. ¿Verdad?

actualizaciones de wp

Do not confuse Webmaster and Community Manager, since they are two totally different tasks.
The first handles the design of your site and all the administrative and technical issues, while the second creates content for your social networks and serves your followers.

Once you have met all the requirements, your designer is ready to start working on the design of your website.

comunity manager

I also advise you to read my article How to start designing a website? to know all the stages of design and what information you have to provide to your webmaster to design your site.

Final conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it was useful to you.
Starting a project on the Internet for the first time implies having a basic knowledge of the web design language and multiple technical and functional aspects.

If you wanted to have your website and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

In the Related Articles section below, you will find many articles with specific topics that complement the one you just read. Thank you!

>>>  I WANT MY WEBSITE <<<

Packaging posavasos

What a responsive logo is

Do you know what a responsive logo is and how important it is for your brand?

In this article I want to tell you about this new trend in branding, which day by day is becoming more essential for the correct use of a brand and optimizing its presence in different digital media.
The use of different devices with varying screen sizes creates the need to design logos that adapt to diverse scenarios.
These variables allow the brand to be applied in any medium, be it print, digital, web, video, multimedia or Apps for mobile devices.

Therefore, a responsive or adaptive logo is a brand with great versatility, capable of adapting to all kinds of changes in size, format or spaces, without losing its essence, legibility and identity.

logos responsive

>>> I WANT MY LOGO <<<

Packaging posavasos

Its origin in web design

The concept "responsive" has its origin in web design, which emerged a few years ago before the rise of mobile devices, and the need to automatically adapt web content to different screen widths.
And that is why we normally design in 3 basic sizes: PC, tablet and smartphone.
Many companies decide to create a downloadable mobile App to optimize the web version for smartphones, with a design much more simplified still.

This has led to name "responsive brands" to those that allow adaptation and simplification by eliminating unnecessary elements, depending on the device in which they are viewed.

web responsive

Corporate identity

The variants of a logo in terms of its composition, shape or size are not new.
In the corporate identity manuals, in addition to indicating shapes, colors and fonts, graphic designers have always included a section where we subjected the brand to a reduction test, and we could verify that the brand worked perfectly in small sizes up to 1 cm .
Sometimes a variant was even made, eliminating superfluous elements of the brand for when it had to be used in very small spaces.
We also presented different locations of the brand: horizontal, vertical, circular and square, taking into account its possible applications.
Of course, we thought of this based on different methods of graphic printing or corporeal realization of the brand, and not in its application in digital media, much less in mobile devices, since they did not exist yet.
In fact, the smallest branding app we envisioned was on a promotional pen or a graphic ad footer.

But the digital world has made us evolve to optimize the presence of our brand in all the media within our reach, and this is how the concept of responsive < was born and grows

The following images shows the legibility test at different sizes, and the various adaptations to horizontal, vertical, square and circular shapes, optimizing the space that contains the brand.

identidad corporativa

A matter of adaptability

Joe Harrison is a London based designer specializing in digital and interactive design, who experimented with several examples of big brands, this term of responsive logos.

The following image shows how these marks behave when resizing the window of the different devices (desktop PC, Tablet, Smartphone and mobile Apps)
Brands that in their complete expression have many elements that are simplified or eliminated until they reach their minimum expression, but are equally identifying.

joe harrison responsive logos

 Why have a responsive logo?

The diversity of corporate communication options in the current market (and also in the future) requires the intelligent design of a flexible and adaptive brand.
This should allow its application in all its variables, without losing visual identity and maintaining a graphic coherence in all its versions and applications.
That is why it is necessary to “iconize” the brand identity and reduce it to its minimum expression.

Joe harrison responsive logos

A design for every need

Many companies need to apply their brands in various media depending on the occasions.
Corporeal canopies, institutional stationery, advertisements, publications, mailings, digital communication, web sites, online stores, social networks, merchandising items, are some examples.
Sometimes it is required to show the full logo and sometimes only the icon, depending on the size of the surface where it should be applied.
The design of the brand must support any means of graphic printing, industrial, audiovisual or digital production, without losing presence, identity or legibility, in all its sizes.

In the following images we can see the correct application of a brand in extreme sizes, from a marquee to an engraving on a pen and with different means of reproduction, realization and materials.

pelikan

Unify graphic criteria in brand communication

Such as web design, brand design has not been left out of this new way of adapting to different sizes and media.
This makes the responsive concept also apply to the visual identity of a company or product.
The increasing need to strengthen the corporate presence and set a trend in digital media, especially in social networks, make responsive brands favor online marketing and improve commercial competitiveness.

In the following images we can see a correct use of the responsive logo in corporate Instagram profiles.

instagram si

We know that the mobile is the device with which we access the Internet the most today, and that is why the importance of adapting the brand is vital to have a better image on the web.
For this reason, graphic designers must know the concept in depth. “responsive”, entender cómo funciona y saber aplicarlo a la creación de nuevas marcas.
It is also valid when it comes to assuming the rebranding of many of them, and above all, getting our customers to understand their importance and the benefits of having an “off-road” brand.

 

The importance of redesigning

I want to show you a graphic example with my own brand (Web4) and tell you what led me to propose a total redesign of the existing logo.

After taking a course on Marketing on Instagram , I realized that something was wrong with my brand.

While my logo was correct and worked very well on my responsive website, its design was not optimized for social media.

That is how I decided to change it almost completely and start a new stage, keeping the colors and elements, but totally changing the graphic concept.

In the examples that you will see later, I am going to show you the differences of applications of both versions of the logo on Instagram so that you understand why I decided to change it and the results I obtained when doing so.

restyling

What requirements should a responsive logo have?

Identity, simplicity and cleanliness are the essential factors of any brand design.
The goal is to bring the conceptual idea to a minimum without losing identity.
This minimalist concept is of vital importance in the creation of a new brand, or in the restyling of an existing brand.

Although we increasingly have better screen resolutions on devices, we must be able to solve a visual corporate identity in different qualities and resolutions.
We must start from the most complete to the most essential and recognizable, dispensing with graphics and fonts that may accompany our logo.
All size and legibility options should be considered in advance and not left to chance.
Therefore, any corporate identity project must be developed taking into account the behavior it will have on the different media, traditional or digital.

The following example shows us how the design of a responsive symbol behaves in different screen widths.
We can see how it is dispensing with superfluous details as it shrinks, but without losing the original concept: The icon always represents a house, there is no doubt about that.

icono responsive

"Mobile First" mode

Thinking in "Mobile First" mode can help us a lot to understand the responsive concept.
This means taking into account from the beginning of creation that the logo will be used in your minimal expression on a wide variety of mobile devices.

Like web design, we must know in advance what are the essential elements that should be displayed on minimal supports, and then add the other secondary elements on larger screens.
Therefore, the premise is to make sure to show first the essential and then add the complementary.
In this way, those who access our content from a small device can satisfy their basic needs for which they have reached our website or our brand.
Just as websites adapt and modify their composition depending on the width of the device screens, brands are taking a similar behavior.

 

Elements of a responsive logo

In order to create a responsive logo, we must identify what is the most significant and recognizable element of our brand.
As a general rule, it is best to create four designs: for a smartphone, tablet, laptop and pc.
A logo should have 4 basic versions that must be created to be considered responsive:

 

  • Full logo: Name + Icon + Description (tagline)
  • Logo without Tagline: Name + Icon
  • Name only.
  • Icon only
logo web 4 versiones

The importance of the Favicon

A favicon is an icon that is created to give identity to a website.
Its name comes from "icon for favorites" since that was its initial function: recognize a website in a Favorites list in the browser.
Today this concept goes beyond a simple identification, and that is why we use this icon for all types of brand identity: social profiles, mailings , mobile apps, etc.

Read my article " The most important guide to understanding logos " for more information.

Typically, all social media profile photos are cut out in a circle or square.
This is a very small space that we have to make the most of in order to show our brand.
Therefore, the responsive icon of a brand must fit perfectly within that cut and thus take advantage of its communicational value.

We must bear in mind that this favicon usually has a very small size, and heads the identification bar of browsers.
It is also displayed in email headers, list of favorite sites, phone contacts, WhatsApp, social media profiles, etc.

In the example of the following image you can see the difference in readability and strength values of the brand identity, even in reduced sizes of 32 and 16 px.

favicon

In the following images I show you some of the places where our responsive logo or favicon is displayed:

 

1. In the browser that identifies the web

favicon navegador

2. In the Favorites menu

 

  • Green: Web with Favicon
  • Red: Web without Favicon
  • Blue: Google account identifier
favicon favoritos

3. In the list of most visited sites

sitios mas visitados

4. In the list of emails

 

  • Green: Mail with Favicon
  • Red: Mail without Favicon
favicon mail

5. On Facebook fanpage

 

  • Account Profile Picture
  • Identification in post
  • Viewing as an account follower
favicon facebook

6. On YouTube channel

 

  • Account Profile Picture
favicon youtube

As can be seen in the previous examples, a favicon is not only a graphic to identify a website in favorites, but we can visualize it in many other applications.
In all of them it helps us to strengthen the identity and presence of our Mark.

 

New times and the digital environment

Without a doubt, the greatest benefit of having a responsive logo is going to be obtained on social networks.
It is very important to create a brand presence by paying special attention to the design of our social profiles.
The Instagram profile image does not need to show the full logo, as the name is written in the account description.
That is why we only resort to the application of the responsive logo, trying to center the design within the circle.

In the next examples I will show you the differences between applying a non-responsive logo and a responsive logo on Instagram profiles.
Pay attention to which ones have better readability and institutional presence in all sizes.
You will notice that the logos are getting smaller and smaller in the different instances.

 

1. Company account profile

  • Profile image
  • IG account switcher
perfil IG

2. Display in «Comments»

comentario IG

3. Display in «Likes»

like IG

Final conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed this article and it has been useful to you.
As you may have seen, the display of the logo in the different posts is less and less and that is why it requires a design that allows its readability in extreme sizes.
With these examples I hope I have made it clear to you the importance of using a responsive logo to create a presence of your brand in digital media.
To summarize this article, we can say that Simplicity, Minimalism and Legibility are the keywords to enter your brand identity in the virtual world.

If you wanted to have your brand responsive and you consider that I am a suitable professional, do not hesitate to contact me and I will advise you with great pleasure.

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