2024 Small business branding report: Colors, fonts & websites must-haves

Small business colors of the year

In small business branding, the choice of website design elements speaks volumes about a brand’s identity and appeal to consumers. To begin our study, we examined how businesses use color to create their digital persona.

Our analysis of business websites revealed a preference for neutral background colors. The top choices were white, blue, and gray, reflecting a trend toward clean, professional, and versatile backdrops. Equally telling is the choice of font colors. The predominance of white, gray, and black for text demonstrates a universal approach to ensuring readability and elegance based in minimalism.

Not all businesses stuck to neutrals, though — some opted for brighter colors. Understanding color contrast is key for those looking to infuse more vibrancy into their websites. When selecting brighter or more saturated background colors, choose text colors for optimal readability. This often means using lighter text on darker backgrounds or vice versa.

High contrast not only enhances readability but also contributes to website accessibility, ensuring that content is easily discernible for all users, including those with visual impairments.

Typography trends

As we looked closer at the elements shaping the digital face of today’s small businesses, the choice of typography also emerged as a significant factor in website design.

In our analysis of small business websites, the sans serif font family dominated, with 90% of websites opting for this clean and modern style. Serif fonts are characterized by small lines or decorative strokes often known as “feet” extending from the letters. Conversely, sans serif fonts lack these embellishments. Open Sans was the most popular font, followed closely by Roboto and Montserrat. This preference for sans serif fonts reflects a wider trend in digital design, where clarity and simplicity are most important.

However, remember the role of serif fonts. While they can add a touch of elegance and traditionalism to a website, their readability varies greatly depending on screen size and resolution. In contexts where reading comfort is crucial, such as lengthy blog posts or detailed product descriptions, serifs can aid readability by guiding the eye along the lines of text.

Conversely, serifs can sometimes render text less legible on smaller screens or in less optimal viewing conditions. Balancing aesthetic appeal and functional readability is a key consideration for small businesses aiming to cater to a diverse online audience.

Preferred website elements

The next layer of a website’s identity is its functional and social elements, which reflect its brand identity and are a major point of customer engagement.

Photographs were the most common feature, with 87% of small business websites incorporating them. Closely following were Call-to-action (CTA) buttons on 86% of sites, highlighting their pivotal role in guiding visitor interactions. Additionally, 47% of websites effectively used icons and illustrations, adding a layer of visual appeal and user-friendly navigation. Only 37% prominently displayed phone numbers or other contact information, suggesting a shift toward digital-first communication methods.

As for social media integration, links to Facebook pages led with a 74% presence in website footers, followed by Instagram at 62%. High traffic websites were 66% more likely than low traffic ones to have their Instagram on their footer and nearly 30% more likely to have their Facebook there. This correlation highlights the importance of social media in driving website traffic and enhancing online presence.