Are you unsure what kind of image you would like to communicate to your audience through your website? Perhaps your stationary gives the impression that you are a respected attorney, but your website has the feel of a 1980’s video arcade? If you are not sure what kind of image you want to present, worry no longer, take my quick and fun (hopefully) quiz to start to determine who you are and how you can present your brand best online.  Let us begin:

1.       If your company was a Simpson’s character which one would it be?

a.      Mr. Burns

b.      Bart

c.      Lisa

d.      Homer

e.      Sideshow Bob

2.       What kind of music would you likely play at your holiday party?

a.      Opera

b.      Mumford & Sons

c.      Jazz

d.      Country

e.      Alternative Latvian rock

3.       What drink would you serve at your holiday party?

a.      Dom Perignon

b.      Red Bull

c.      Tea

d.      Water

e.      PBR

4.       If your company was a restaurant, what would it be like?

a.      Morton’s Steakhouse

b.      Dave & Busters

c.      The Olive Garden

d.      Taco Bell

e.      The local BBQ Cricket Stand

5.       What type of car most relates to your company style?

a.      Ferrari

b.      Fiat

c.      Honda Civic

d.      1989 Toyota Camry

e.      Flying cars

6.       What movie best captures your style?

a.      Wall Street

b.      Dazed and Confused

c.      The Sound of Music

d.      Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

e.      Amelie

7.       If you could be headquartered anywhere, where would it be?

a.      Monaco

b.      Vegas

c.      Washington, DC

d.      Chicago

e.      Area 51

8.       What type of shoes does your ideal client wear?

a.      Sparkly designer heels

b.      Converse sneakers

c.      Clarks

d.      Payless shoes

e.      Mismatched shoes

9.       If you had a university affiliation, which would it be with?

a.      NYU

b.      University of Arizona

c.      Harvard

d.      University of Phoenix Online

e.      Cal Arts

10.   On a warm sunny you would likely be?

a.       Flying the company jet to Tahiti

b.      Drinking by the pool at The Standard

c.      Doing bookkeeping in the office

d.      Sleeping on the beach

e.      Teaching interpretive dance in Woodstock

Understanding your results:

If you answered mostly A, you are a high-end brand that should convey wealth and exclusivity. The web design should probably be clean, sleek, simple and uncluttered. High quality images are extremely important for your site. Although you may wish to have a fancy flash site, it will not work on mobile devices and will not help with SEO. To see some examples of good high-end brand sites, look at www.delusciouscookies.com, www.Montblanc.com and www.bentleymotors.com.

If you answered mostly B, you brand is young, hip and fun. Your target audience is the millennial crowd. Your website is fun, youthful, and cool with a lot of personality. You can play with colors and fonts, and you have a lot of room for creativity. Be careful not to come across as too high-end or look too cheap. Some sites to look at are: www.marlonbrando.com, http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/ and http://www.fiatusa.com/en/.

If you answered mostly C, you are a very serious, corporate, and by-the-book kind of brand. Your website should be very simple and corporate with traditional fonts and a clean site design. Your content should be very well-written and there should probably be pictures of people in suits somewhere on your website. A few site that you may wish to look at are: http://www.jsmco.com and http://www.jacobymeyers.com.

If you answered mostly D, you are a low-end mass appeal kind of brand. You want to reach a broad swath of the population. Your website should be clean and can be colorful, but not too creative or sleek. For you, content and images are not as important as communicating value and making it extremely easy for your viewer to purchase or choose to contact you. Examples of such sites to look at are: www.panerabread.com,www.qualityscrubsets.com and www.fedex.com/us.

If you answered mostly E, you have a lot of personality and want to be known for innovative thinking. Your web site can have free range of choice for colors, fonts, layouts and style, although you may have to spend a bit more to get the customized website design that suits your unique brand. Sites that may appeal to you are: www.jackinthebox.com, and www.wag.com and www.credolaw.com.