{"id":2710,"date":"2018-08-14T17:02:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T17:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rh01.co.uk\/?p=2710"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:15:06","slug":"web-hosting-company-building-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/web-hosting-company-building-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting a web hosting company: building a brand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is part two of our guide to becoming a reseller of web hosting<\/a>, this one concentrating more on marketing. Specifically, on practical tips to begin creating your hosting brand. It\u2019s aimed at those starting a new company, but may also be useful for those who are already in business.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies have understood the value of a having a brand identity since the Victorian era.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brand will make your web hosting<\/a> company memorable, and people are more likely to buy – or pay more for – products and services they have already been exposed-to. This human foible gave rise to advertising as we know it: where companies advertise their brand – not just the benefits of their product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"'Buy<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A brand can become associated with positive emotions irrespective of the quality and value of what they sell. It\u2019s an intangible asset that\u2019s sometimes worth more than \u2018real\u2019 tangible assets like premises or inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brand can become aspirational, like Apple or Ferrari. Or become so associated with a product that it becomes part of the language like \u2018Googling\u2019 or \u2018Hoovering\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you\u2019re starting a business reselling web hosting,<\/a> this isn\u2019t going to happen. We\u2019ve grudgingly accepted that people won\u2019t be \u201820i-ing\u2019 their website in the near future. But you can dream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, having a recognisable brand does add value to your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking about branding saves time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Building a brand isn\u2019t \u2018marketing fluff\u2019. When starting your hosting company, it\u2019s wise to have a brand strategy in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will save you time and effort in the long-run, because it helps focus your decisions, enabling efficient choices across the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you do your job well, it will also mean people remember your brand, become loyal, and help make your business a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read our tips on the 5 main elements to create a successful brand from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Your brand name<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Names are powerful.
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I\u2019ve already gone in to the naming of companies<\/a> in some detail already in this blog, so I won\u2019t repeat that.
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Rather, to summarise: you need to pick something unique, that will appeal to your market. It needs to be simple, easily-pronounceable in your target language (we\u2019re looking at you, Tsohost) and memorable. It should be something that you\u2019re comfortable-with personally, because (hopefully) you\u2019ll be using it for a long time.
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Having what you do in your name can help too, so *Something* Web Hosting<\/em> could always be a good start!
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Don\u2019t overthink it, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the big brands\u2019 names have nothing to do with what they\u2019re actually selling. Out of the world\u2019s top ten most valuable brands in 2022*, only 2-3 of their names* have anything remotely to do with what they sell:
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    \n
  1. Apple<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Microsoft<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Amazon<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Google<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Amazon<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Samsung<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Toyota<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Coca-Cola<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Mercedes-Benz<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Disney<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    So naming your business after yourself (or a fruit\/ your cat, etc.) will probably do little harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (* Source Statista<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Your brand colours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Your brand colours are important. Or at least: many people tell us so, and lots of brands perpetuate that idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Broadly speaking, certain colours can be linked to feelings or concepts. So if your want to brand to convey \u2018trust\u2019, you might consider using navy blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Colour
    Thanks to the Logo Company<\/a> for this pic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In the end, it depends on your overall marketing strategy. For example, if your target market is female you might go for the colour pink in your logo and branding. Equally, you might want to avoid such awful stereotyping like the plague! It\u2019s up to you.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While the colours you choose might depend on your target market and your own taste, how<\/strong> you use them is less debatable.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Visuals tend to be more striking and memorable if you limit the number of colours you use, with one to three being the sweet spot (plus black and white). It can help bring consistency across your services.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s also important to design your brand colours with accessibility in mind: contrasting colours work better for easy readability. Colour ‘blindness’ in its various forms needs be taken in to account too: there are plenty of tools to help you with this, such as Toptal<\/a>\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"The<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In a later article in this series – about designing a website for a hosting business – we\u2019ll go further in to accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Colour theory<\/a> tells us that certain colour combinations contrast, match or simply work well together to the standard human eye. If you haven\u2019t been to the Chromatic University there are numerous tools that can help you pick a colour scheme, such as Coolors<\/a>. From a single colour (or more), it will suggest colours that work will well with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Above all, you need to be consistent with your colours. While most of your business will be on in the web, when designing a brand you need to plan for the future. So think about business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, fluffy desktop gonks…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You may not need them now, but consider how your brand colours could be used in the future. Will they look good on the side of your private jet?
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, you\u2019re always free to ignore everything!
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You could rebel: be as garish and tasteless as possible. Lings Cars<\/a> appear to be doing well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Or unleash the unstoppable force of brutalism<\/a>, which confines itself to simple contrasting colours – and often eschews colour entirely! In the end, and as always, it depends on what kind of market you\u2019re aiming at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Your brand sounds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Don’t you love it when a web page plays music or a video auto-starts, helpfully eliminating the need for an extra click..?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No, I\u2019m not talking about those kind of sounds, exactly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    But thinking about what your brand could ‘sound’ like is a great exercise to help fully flesh-out your brand strategy. You could also expand the exercise across the senses to how your brand feels<\/strong>, tastes <\/strong>or even smells<\/strong>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But I’m not going down that route today! Continuing with sounds: if you were to have sounds to give feedback on button presses in your control panel or app, what would those be like? Would they be efficient clicks, futuristic bleeps, cheeky chirps or naughty honks?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you were to make video content, what would be your theme tune? What would the background music be like if you were explaining your services?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What would the video presenter sound like..? Which neatly brings us on to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Your brand voice and tone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Brand voice might include the accent and dialect of a presenter, but \u2018voice and tone\u2019 goes much beyond that.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your voice could be described as your \u2018brand personality\u2019 and should cover\u00a0 all your communications, wherever they happen. For example, you might decide to go for an \u2018energetic\u2019 voice, and avoid passive phrases<\/a>. Or your voice might be \u2018formal\u2019 and never use contractions (\u2018it is\u2019, never \u2018it\u2019s\u2019). Your brand voice might be technical and expert, or friendly and simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your voice also shows where it comes from. Is it elitist or down-to-earth? Does it use a local dialect or Standard English? Does it use American or British English spellings (or your own regional variations)?
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    Tone is your brand voice wearing different uniforms. Just as in real life, your tone will change depending on where you are and who you\u2019re speaking-to.
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    It\u2019s about context. For example, 20i might adopt a lighter, more playful tone on social media and this blog than we do in replies to technical support queries…as we hope you appreciate.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of the best ways to think about tone (and voice) is to describe what it isn\u2019t<\/strong>. I like how Google describes its Developer Documentation tone<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    = \u201clike this, not like this\u201d approach.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mailchimp<\/a>\u2019s is also good:
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