How to create an online presence for your company, during the interim period when your brand is being created?

The brand and image of a business are vital to its success. When creating a brand, often you only get one chance at creating the right impression.

Having understood the importance of branding, you have identified a suitable branding agency to create the logo, brand identity, collateral and the brand strategy of your company.

This exercise may take a few weeks to a few months, depending on the size of your company, the range of services/products and other factors.

And hence the big question - what do you do in the meantime, to make sure that webusers searching for your company on the internet, get the right impression of your company??

Keeping the following points in mind, will help you when creating an interim website:


1. Select the right domain name
Select a domain name most suited to your company's name, product/service or purpose. Make sure that the domain name is relevant and not too long. Book your domain name in advance to avoid last minute scrambling!

2. Use Information to your advantage
Though your brand and logo are still being created, you have INFORMATION about your company, services/products, team etc. Collect, collate, filter the available information and package it in an easy to read, web-friendly format that will capture the users attention.

3. Look beyond the design of your website
During this phase, you do not want the webuser to be blown away by a design or color scheme that they will associate with your company - the brand that is being created will do that, once it is ready. Create a web presence with a simple, elegant, single color tone website with minimal emphasis on special effects. Ensure the information architecture on the website is efficient so that webuser can find any information on the website intuitively and within 3 clicks. This will create a positive image for your company.

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Never ever underestimate SEO. Also, your customers will not be searching the internet with your company's name. They will be searching with terms related to your service, your products, your activities etc. Think from the point of view of your customer and SEO your website for all effective keywords related to your business.

5. Update your website
Even if your website is a temporary one, update it with press releases. Also, unless your re-branding exercise is top secret, it is favourable to let your webusers know that you are currently creating your brand. This will give them the confidence that your company give the right priority to the important aspects of your business.