Is your graphic design holding up your online success? Here are some key factors to consider.

(This post contains affiliate links.)

The answer to this question isn’t that cut and dry, so I’ll outline some examples from working with clients. And a few strategic ways you can evaluate the design of your own brand.

First off, the person behind the brand really matters. 

In my experience, online business owners have a lot of similarities, but of course they’re each unique! Some are introverted, some extroverted, and everything in between. And each brings a different level of training and experience, as well as assets and needs to our work.

One client had a website that was just begging for a design upgrade, but she was happily earning 30k/mo, working with her ideal clients. She liked the site that she made. And there were no real issues. 

While graphic design can always improve the perceived professionalism of a brand, I say if it’s working, and you feel confident standing behind your brand, why change it? 

As one of the many iterations of my own brand, I had a one page portfolio that people just loved. It kept connecting me with my ideal clients. I knew the design could be way better, but look, if something is helping you reach your goals, and you’re at least pleased enough with it, I say just let it be.

(I changed the design when I personally couldn’t stand it anymore, and wanted a refresh for my own sake).

Second, consider your industry.

One of my clients has 20+ years experience as a graphic designer in NYC. 

However, the first version of her online brand looked a bit rudimentary. And it makes sense, since sooo many creatives create gorgeous materials for their clients, and skimp on their own!  

I kindly pointed this out. And considering she was offering an online graphics course, I encouraged her to really bring her A game.

She was completely on board with redesigning the brand, and it turned out beautifully.

So if you’re in the design space, pursuing funding, or in an industry where other brands have especially high quality design, I recommend you invest in stellar visuals.

Let’s consider another industry-specific case. 

I have a client who is an accountant. 

And many strong, established accounting firms have sort of—terrible design (they’re focusing on the numbers, folks). 

My client put together a site using a web builder, and neither of us were happy with it. It looked disjointed and “homemade.” In his case, he didn’t have to do *much in terms of design to outshine his competitors, but he was offering one of the highest valued services $$$$ in his industry. He also planned to send cold emails, and of course, he works with people’s money. 

So I recommended he work with a designer to visually convey his strong credibility.

Alright, on to the next consideration…

How established is your business?

In the beginning phases of growing your business, you’ll likely be honing your niche, the type of business structure you want (simple vs complex, 1:1 vs group vs product, etc). You’ll be considering what makes you unique in the marketplace, defining your ideal client, offers and pricing, honing in on your messaging etc. 

While it’s amazing to nail this stuff the first time (I help my private clients with this)... Online business is inherently a process of testing and iteration. And businesses tend to have more growth and evolution at the outset. 

So you may not want to invest 5-10k in the design of a brand that may change 6 mos or a year from now. It can be nice to have a sense of your business identity first.

What’s your budget?

If you have more time than money ($), and hopefully some design sensibilities, a website builder is a great way to go. With Squarespace, Wix, and other website builders out there, you can use their templates to get something “good is good enough” out the door. 

If you want to quickly and significantly upgrade the quality of your design ($$), I highly recommend the JOA Template Shop. It’s where I got this website template! And Seantal has been amazing with helping me customize some of the images and sections. 

If you want custom design ($$$), I have a trusted resource I can introduce you to. Just send me a message and I’ll make an introduction. 

Back to the original question in the title, “Is your graphic design the reason you’re not getting paying clients?” Ideally, all elements of your brand work together to provide a seamless customer experience. In a lot of cases, you don’t have to be perfect, but if there’s too big of a mismatch between who you are, what you offer, and what the design communicates, it could be a contributing factor against your ideal clients knowing, liking, or trusting you.