Logo and brand basics for a small business

A logo and a brand identity feel to many business owners like something you have to sort out “quickly”. That is understandable, but the choices you make now will follow you for years: on your website, your van, your quotes and your socials. In this article we set out the basics, without brand jargon, so you know what you need, what you may ask for and what you had better put in writing. We name no costs and no results; those depend on your situation.

What is a brand identity, really?

A brand identity is the set of agreements that makes your business look recognisable. For a small business that is modest: a logo in a few variants, a few colours, one or two fonts, an image style and a tone. It does not need to be more, as long as you use it consistently.

The logo: what do you need?

• A main version. The logo in full colour.
• A compact version. A square or small variant for a favicon, profile picture or app icon.
• A single-colour version. For stamps, embroidery or dark backgrounds.
• Files in the right formats. A vector file (such as SVG or PDF) that you can scale without quality loss, and a pixel file (PNG) for quick use.
• Clear space and minimum size. A short rule on how much white space around it and how small it may be.

A logo that only works when it is large and in colour often does not work on a phone. Test that early.

Colours and legibility

Choose a main colour, an accent colour and a few neutral shades. Pay attention to the legibility of text on your website. The WCAG guideline on contrast (success criterion 1.4.3) asks for sufficient contrast between text and background. The W3C names an exception: text that is part of a logo or brand name has no contrast requirement. That gives freedom in the logo itself, but not for the headings and buttons on your website. More on accessibility in the accessibility law and your website.

Fonts

Choose one font for headings and one for body text; two is enough. On a website two more practical points apply: use fonts for which you hold the licence for web use, and keep the number of weights and styles limited, because every file has to be loaded. That affects speed, see Core Web Vitals explained.

Imagery and tone

Imagery is often more important than the logo: photos of your own work and your own team do more than stock photos, we think, but that is an opinion, not a measurement. Agree how you sound: formal or informal, short or extended. A consistent tone makes you recognisable, even without a logo.

How does a logo work on a website?

For the web a few practical points apply. Use an SVG where possible, because it stays sharp and small. Give the logo a meaningful alternative text, usually the company name. Provide a favicon, a compact version of your logo, so your site is recognisable in a browser tab. Let the logo link to the homepage. Google writes in the SEO Starter Guide about descriptive text for images; that also applies to your logo. And watch file size: a heavy logo slows every page, see our explanation of speed.

Rights: who owns your logo?

This is the part most often forgotten. In the Netherlands, copyright in an original design rests with its maker unless it has been transferred. Article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act says that an agreement by which copyright is wholly or partly transferred, or in which an exclusive licence is granted, is entered into in writing, and that such a transfer covers only the powers expressly stated in the agreement or necessarily following from it. In practice: have it recorded what you get. May you use the logo everywhere, may you adapt it, do you receive the source files, and who holds the rights after payment? That is separate from whether the designer may mention the work in a portfolio.

The same goes for a website. See how to brief a web agency, where we also mention this point.

Registering a trademark?

You can register a logo or name as a trademark in the Benelux through the BOIP. We are not lawyers and do not go into what it costs, how long it takes or what exactly it protects. Check with the BOIP and with the KVK (for your trade name) what applies to your situation, and consult a trademark specialist or lawyer if in doubt.

A simple plan

1. Write down what your business does and for whom. A logo reinforces; it does not replace a position.
2. Collect examples you like, and why. That replaces vague briefs.
3. Have a few directions made and choose one. Test at small size.
4. Record files and rights. In writing.
5. Make a short style sheet. Logo, colours, fonts, tone, on one or two pages.
6. Use it consistently. On your website, quotes, socials and business materials.

A thought example

This is an invented example, not a customer case and not a result. Suppose a small building company has a logo consisting of a fine illustration with small text beneath it. On a van it looks good, but as a favicon it is a smudge and on a phone the text is unreadable. The fix does not have to be “a new logo”: a compact version with only the symbol, a single-colour version for stamps and a fixed clear space solve much. That is the kind of choice you can record before you start.

A checklist of what you should receive

When a design is delivered, ask for: the logo in vector (SVG or PDF) and as PNG, the colour codes, the names of the fonts and their licence, a single-colour and a compact version, and a short explanation of use. Also ask for the written agreement on the rights. If you do not have it, it is hard to ask for later.

Brand consistency on your website

On a website, consistency shows in small things: the same button style on every page, the same heading sizes, the same tone in forms and error messages. A style sheet for the website, even if it is one page, prevents every new page from turning out different. Review this too when you periodically go through your site, see the maintenance checklist.

Common mistakes

• A logo that only works large.
• Too many colours and fonts.
• No source files. Then you depend on the designer for every change.
• Not recording rights. See above.
• Only a logo, no imagery and tone. Recognisability lies in the whole.
• Starting over every time. A brand is built on repetition.

What do we do?

In our image and brand service we help with image style and applying it to your website. For a new website we take your brand identity as the starting point, see websites. We promise no results from a new logo.

In conclusion

A good brand identity for a small business is simple, consistent and well recorded. Want to go through it together? Book a free intro call.

Sources

Reviewed on 28 October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and guidelines change; this article is general information, not legal or tax advice.

• W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
• Auteurswet, artikel 2 (wetten.overheid.nl)
• web.dev: Web Vitals
• Google Search: SEO Starter Guide
• Benelux Organisation for Intellectual Property (BOIP)
• Kamer van Koophandel (KVK)

Book an intro call