Your site slogan sums up what your business is about in a few words. It should evoke powerful emotions, paint a vivid picture or entertain anyone who lands on your page. In your typography hierarchy, the site slogan is typically the first or second-largest font on your page, demanding attention.
According to Statista, the number of websites grew from the first single website in 1991 to more than 1.72 billion sites today. If you want to stand out from the many different voices vying for consumer attention, everything about your design must be spot-on, including your site slogan.
Writing a tagline to grab user attention is challenging. Fortunately, you can follow six basic rules that will help you come up with something representative of your brand’s personality. Although slogans and taglines are a bit different, they are still quite similar. A slogan explains the mission more thoroughly than a tagline does, but we’ll use the two terms interchangeably throughout this article.
Here’s how you can start improving:
1. Know Your Voice
Each business has a unique personality. What kind of mood do you want to offer to the public? Do most of your customers respond best to humor or serious discussion? Before you attempt to write a tagline, you need to know what your brand goals are and why you do what you do. Your slogan typically embraces your mission, so write out a more detailed version of your mission before shortening it into something more concise.
Shave.net uses two different font hierarchies within their slogan. They use the tagline of “Shave like a real man.” The text for “real man” is in big, bold letters, showing they have a no-nonsense, rugged outlook on razors. They aren’t catering to women — they know their target audience.
2. Understand Your Audience
Just as you need to know who you are as a brand, you must fully understand your target audience. Who is most likely to purchase from you, and what do they care about? Once you comprehend your typical customer’s psychological and demographical factors, it’s much easier to meet user expectations.
3. Explain Your Purpose
People who’ve never been exposed to your brand before may not be sure precisely what you do. Your slogan can explain your purpose as a brand. Use your headline to educate first-time site visitors about what you do and how you can help them.
Each business has a unique value proposition (UVP) that makes them stand out from others in the same industry. What makes you the best choice for customers? Why are you better than all the other options they could turn to?
Cates Auction Real Estate Company does a great job of explaining what they do through the user perspective. Their slogan reads, “Innovative Marketing Technology Meets Competitive Bidding.” The phrase is short and to the point, and it describes the benefits of using their services over others in their area.
4. Keep It Simple
A genuinely great slogan is easy to understand. Don’t make the user guess what your meaning is, and avoid being subtle. There is a time and place for such tactics, but your website slogan isn’t it. Instead, keep it as short as possible and use descriptive words highlighting the main elements you want users to remember about your brand.
The catchier your headlines, the more likely visitors will remember them. Many people visit a site and think things over before returning and making a purchase. You want your taglines to stick with them throughout the day. Whenever they think about the product or service you offer, your slogan should come to mind and encourage them to return to your site. It must be short enough to remember.
5. Showcase a Benefit
What benefits do your products or services offer that competitors don’t? Your slogan should highlight how you’re different than others out there. When you think about Walmart, you think low prices. When you mention Whole Foods, you consider fresh, healthy produce. When you hear the brand name Gillette, you tie it to the closest shave you can get.
The benefit should be what helps the consumer. People don’t care if you’re the largest or most profitable company. They only care about how you can help them solve a pain point.
6. Create Something Timeless
Stay away from slogans embracing a particular technology, as tech changes rapidly. You want a saying you can use as easily in 15 years as you do today. You can never go wrong by focusing on the emotions behind what you offer. For example, if your focus is on helping working moms, your slogan should state something about making parents’ lives easier or giving them more time with their families.
No matter what technological changes arrive, the concepts of loving your children and wanting to spend time with them never change.
Stay Consistent
Spend some time now developing a fantastic tagline you’ll want to use for years to come. Some companies regularly change their sayings. It’s hard for users to associate you with a specific slogan if you frequently change it. Nike has used “Just do it” for years now. When you think about McDonald’s, you probably think about “I’m lovin’ it,” and when someone mentions Burger King, you likely know you can get it your way.
Create a tagline speaking to what you do and who you are at your company’s core. Use the slogan repeatedly in all your marketing materials and on your website. Users will begin associating the saying with your business.
Lexie is a web designer and digital nomad. She enjoys kayaking with her goldendoodle and baking new cookie recipes. Check out her design blog, Design Roast, and connect with her on Twitter @lexieludesigner.