Putting the Cart Before the Horse: Why Building Your Website Before Your Logo is a Massive Mistake
We’ve all heard the phrase "putting the cart before the horse." In the digital world, there is a modern equivalent that drives designers a little crazy: building a fully fledged website before you’ve designed your logo.
Lately, I’ve had a string of clients approach me to design a logo after their website was already built, their fonts locked in, and their color palettes chosen.
As an experienced designer, I know how to make it work. I can pivot, adapt, and reverse-engineer a brand identity to fit an existing template. But let’s be completely honest: it is entirely the wrong way to do it.
When a website is built first, a designer's hands are tied. Instead of creating a brand identity from a place of pure strategy and creativity, we are forced into a corner, trying to make a square peg fit into a pre-existing, round digital hole.
The Soul of Your Brand Comes First
Your brand identity—the logo, the core typography, the signature colors—is the foundation of your business. It represents your voice, your mission, and your personality.
The golden rule of design is simple: You establish the brand identity first, and then you apply that identity to the website.
The website is a vehicle to showcase your brand, not the other way around. When you build the site first, you are letting a web template or a hasty color choice dictate the entire visual future of your company.
"Is a Logo Really That Important?"
During these recent projects, both clients told me something that made my inner designer wince: they just didn't feel a logo was that important. I even had a potential job fall through recently because a prospect simply didn’t want to pay for a logo.
If you are a small business owner holding this belief, I want to gently challenge you to rethink it.
To a customer, your logo is vitally important because it creates instant trust. * The First Impression: Before a customer reads your "About Me" page or browses your services, they judge your professionalism based on your visual identity.
The Trust Factor: A polished, intentional logo signals that you are an established, legitimate business that cares about quality. A messy, afterthought logo (or a total lack of one) signals the opposite.
The Anchor: Your logo is the anchor for your entire customer experience. It’s what stays in their mind long after they close their browser tab.
A Friendly Wake-Up Call for Small Businesses
Cutting corners on your branding to save a bit of time or budget is a false economy. Investing in a website while ignoring the very symbol that represents your business is like buying a luxury frame for a canvas you haven't painted yet.
If you want your target audience to take your business seriously, you have to treat your brand with the respect it deserves. Start with the foundation. Get the logo, colors, and fonts right first. Your website—and your business—will be infinitely better for it.
What are your thoughts? If you're a business owner, did you start with your logo or your website? Let’s chat in the comments!
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FAQ
Q: Do I need a designer to set up a Squarespace site?
A: While you can build a site yourself, a professional Squarespace designer ensures your site is well-structured, SEO-optimised, and aligned with your brand.
Q: How often should I update my website or blog?
A: Even small updates every few months help keep content fresh, which encourages Google to re-crawl your site and can boost rankings.
Q: What’s the best way to improve SEO on Squarespace?
A: Focus on clear navigation, internal links between pages, optimised meta descriptions, and properly sized images.