You’ve got a great business plan, some inspiring and well-written content, and everything about your site structure is feeling good.

Now it’s time to ice the cake. For a small business, the website often acts as the only brand asset, so don’t underestimate the look and feel. Aesthetics drive user decision making and impact the trust that visitors have in your business.  

When making aesthetic choices, remember…

Color inside the lines

If you're building your site yourself, plan on staying inside the parameters of a Squarespace template. They usually follow best practices for structure and layout and it will keep your site looking cohesive. Squarespace offers a lot of customization options, but if you aren’t an expert this can lead to your site looking cluttered.

Be careful with photography

Although technically falling into the content bucket, photography plays a huge role in style. If you choose to include photography on your site, make sure it aligns with your overall look. Of course, original professional photography is best, but if you use stock photography it still needs to relate to your brand. The best websites treat photography just like any other style element. It interplays with typography and fits the color scheme of the site. 

Use fewer fonts

Good design practice suggests a max of three fonts on a website. Squarespace is now partnered with Adobe Typekit, which means you’ll have access to over 1,000 Typekit fonts for use on your site. All that choice doesn’t have to be overwhelming though. When choosing fonts, remember that consistency is key. Use one font for headlines, one for body copy, and if needed, another for pull quotes and design elements. Make sure your fonts work nicely together, and if you aren’t sure, stick with the suggested template options—they were chosen for a reason.

Stick to a color scheme

Similar to typography, it’s important to limit your color use. Choose a color scheme and stick to it. If color theory isn’t your strong suit, don’t fret, there are a ton of tools out there to help you choose a color scheme. Some include Coolers, Color Safe, and Adobe Color CC. Remember to use brand specific fonts whenever possible and highly contrasting colors for foreground and background.

If you want to move beyond these basics to create a site that’s unique to your brand, consider working with a pro. The designers at Studio Rubric have years of experience in making aesthetic decisions for web. Contact us to get started on your next project.