Your website’s logo distinguishes your brand within the market. Correctly done it acts as a marketing tool that can boost your potential reach. 77% of B2B marketing leaders say branding is critical in market growth (Circle Research).

Your businesses logo will act as the main selling point. Before a customer ‘adds to cart’ or ‘purchases now’ they’ll be scanning the website, guaranteeing it’s right for them before they proceed. That’s why you’ll need to tick all the boxes when it comes to the design. A professional looking website sells on it’s own.

Will You be Hiring a Graphic Designer or will You be Making it Yourself?

Do you have any experience in photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop? Or perhaps Adobe Illustrator? If the answers no, will you be looking to hire an artist or will you be learning as you go along? This article is a great place to start none the less, we’ll cover the development steps needed to cement your websites image.

Start Sketching Up Rough Ideas of your Logo

The logo you choose acts as a huge reflection on your brand, so you’ll need to make sure your logo makes sense in relation with your website’s goal- what is it that your website aims to do? If your website primarily aims to sell lawn-mowing services you’ll probably want to incorporate elements related such as grass or maybe a lawnmower in the logo to gain the customers check of approval. In that example a logo incorporating those elements is straight to the point, will look good if done right and gains the customers trust as you seem like a professional on that topic.

Start sketching up some rough designs on what you think your logo could look like, you’re not going to get it right the first time but with continual refinement and new ideas you can begin to gain direction. This planning phase can last anywhere from 20 minutes, to days, if not weeks for larger websites. Whatever the time frame, it’s worthwhile doing right. Once you’ve got your idea on paper there’s nothing stopping you from bringing it to life digitally.

Bringing Your Logo to Life

Now that you’ve got a solid idea on what you want, it’s time to create it digitally. I recommend Adobe Photoshop, you can download a free version of the software which has it’s limitations (29 day free trial) but if you’re motivated enough you can get it all done in time! Photoshop is an amazing photo editing software that gives you all the tools you’ll need to create your logo. Another huge advantage is that it’s one of the most popular photo editing programs on the market! Which means there’s millions of tutorials online on how to get started. With a clear vision in mind and a library of tools to at your disposal there’s nothing stopping you from bringing that logo to life!

How to File & Format Images Correctly for the Web

If you’re developing your logo on your own it’s a really good idea to get an understanding on the few relevant image file extensions. As you start designing your logo using any editing software, the first thing it will ask you is the size of your image- the resolution, the quality etc. that’s because it expects you to know what you’re designing before you start!

So think about it what it is you’ll be trying to achieve, will you be creating a logo to fit into the header of your website? Or perhaps you’re making a social banner for Facebook? Both of those situations require a different file extension and that’s because each file type holds different properties. For instance, a Facebook banner would require a .JPEG file extension because you require the entire image to be full with content, i.e no transparent content. Designing a logo for a website on the other hand would use a .PNG file extension in most cases to utilize transparency options.

The 2 file extensions mentioned are the primary ‘lossy’ extensions you’ll be using specifically on the web, so to break it down these are the qualities of the two:

JPEG – Compresses its images size while retaining its quality. Which is helpful in keeping your images loading quickly and still looking great.

PNG – The file type uses lossless compression, it allows for ‘transparency’  within images. It’s popularly used on websites for its ability to add transparent image layers.

During the development process you’ll consistently be switching between using the two extensions as the requirement changes in every situation.

Uploading Social Logos and Cover Images

Congratulations on creating your first logo! Now you need to display to the world. Additionally, social media is a huge advertising outlet and you should use it to your advantage. If you haven’t done already I recommend setting up social accounts for your website (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.). You can start uploading your logo as the main image of your profile and get your name out there!