TL;DR
- Only change your brand if you need to. Branding is personal, and changes ripple through the whole site.
- If you do change it, do it early, while changes are easiest to work in.
- Light brand colors often fail accessibility contrast. Use them as accents, with darker shades for text and buttons.
- Your colors and your photos need to work together. A warm palette can clash with cool-toned photos.
Should I Update My Logo Before a Redesign?
Not unless it’s needed. As Beth tells clients, “I typically do not like recommending brand changes to clients unless it’s absolutely necessary. Branding is very personal for many businesses.”
- Know what a new logo touches. It can mean a new color palette, new fonts, and a new header and footer. We tell you the cost before any work starts.
- Timing matters. “While we’re in the earlier stages, it’s the perfect time to change them up.” Mid-build changes take extra time.
- Keep it simple. In Beth’s words, “A logo must be a simplified version of a lot of data.”
Do My Brand Colors Meet Accessibility Standards?
Webmaster For Hire works to WCAG 2.1 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). At that level, color contrast has clear minimums:
- Regular text: a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background.
- Large text: at least 3:1. Large means at least 18 point (about 24 pixels), or 14 point bold (about 18.5 pixels).
- Buttons, form fields, and icons: the parts that show what they are and what state they’re in need at least 3:1 against the colors around them.
- Text in your logo has no contrast requirement.
Most light pastels fail as text colors. When one client’s light pink failed, it became an accent color. As Beth told her, “But we can use a darker version of that color.”
Why Doesn’t My Color Palette Work With My Photos?
Colors have temperature. As Beth stated to one client, “Your color palette is warm, but most of your images are mostly cool toned.” Either the palette or the photos need to shift so the site feels like one brand.
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Decide on brand changes before design starts. See What Should I Prepare Before My Website Redesign Starts?
- Get darker versions of your brand colors built in from the start, not added later.
- Choose one heading font and one body font, and keep body text at 16 pixels or larger.
:: Common Questions ::
Can I Change the Font in My Website’s Headers?
It depends on what your theme allows. Script and decorative fonts belong in headings and accents only, never in body text. Paid fonts need a license that allows use on a website. But for the most part, yes, you can.
What Logo Files Should I Send?
See What Logo File Formats Do I Need for My Website and Print?
Want a Brand That Works on Every Screen?
Request a consultation, and we’ll review your colors and logo with you.
