Brand Identity Checklist: Name, Domain, Logo, and Beyond

A brand is not a logo. A brand is the complete experience someone has when they encounter your business—from the name they hear to the website they visit to the email they receive. The strongest brands feel inevitable: every element reinforces every other element, creating something that feels unified and intentional. This checklist walks you through every component of a brand identity, in the order you should build them, so nothing falls through the cracks.

1. Brand Name Strategy

Your name is the foundation everything else is built on. Get it right and the rest of your brand identity flows naturally. Get it wrong and you'll fight upstream against your own name for years.

Name Evaluation Criteria

Every strong brand name passes these tests:

• Pronounceable — Can someone who has never seen your name say it correctly after reading it once? If people hesitate or pronounce it differently, it creates friction in word-of-mouth marketing.
• Spellable — Can someone who hears your name type it into a browser without asking how to spell it? Unusual spellings (dropping vowels, creative letter substitutions) look clever but hurt discoverability.
• Memorable — After hearing your name once, would someone remember it tomorrow? Short, distinctive, and emotionally resonant names stick. Generic descriptions don't.
• Meaningful — Does the name evoke something relevant to your brand? It doesn't need to describe what you do (Apple doesn't sell fruit), but it should carry an emotional or conceptual association that supports your positioning.
• Defensible — Can you trademark it? Descriptive names ("Fast Hosting") and generic terms ("Cloud Services") are nearly impossible to protect. Distinctive names are your best legal defense.

Real-World Examples of Excellent Brand Names

Stripe — Short, clean, memorable. Evokes a straight line, simplicity, precision—exactly what you want from a payments company. The name works in every language and at every size, from startup to the $50B company it became.

Notion — Suggests an idea, a concept, a thought. Perfect for a tool where people organize their thinking. The word feels intellectual without being pretentious, creative without being frivolous.

Linear — Implies straight-line efficiency, no wasted movement. For a project management tool that prides itself on speed, the name is the brand promise. Every time you say the name, you're reinforcing the value proposition.

For a deeper exploration of why certain names resonate more than others, read our guide on the psychology of brand names.

2. Domain and Web Presence

Your domain name is the digital address of your brand. In 2026, it's as fundamental as a phone number was in 1996. Here's your domain checklist:

Domain Checklist

• Primary .com registered — The .com is still the default assumption for most consumers. Even if you use another TLD as your primary, own the .com.
• Key alternative TLDs registered — If your brand is "Beacon," consider registering beacon.io, beacon.co, and beacon.app as defensive registrations.
• Common misspellings registered — If people might type "beakon" instead of "beacon," register that too and redirect it.
• WHOIS privacy enabled — Keep your personal information out of public databases.
• Auto-renewal turned on — Never risk losing your domain to an expired credit card or missed email.
• DNS properly configured — Point your domain to your hosting provider with correct A records, CNAMEs, and MX records for email.
• SSL/HTTPS active — Non-negotiable in 2026. Every page must load over HTTPS.
• Professional email set up — [email protected], not [email protected]. First impressions matter.

URL Strategy

Think beyond just the domain. Your URL structure communicates brand hierarchy:

• Blog: yourbrand.com/blog (not blog.yourbrand.com—subfolders consolidate SEO authority)
• Product pages: yourbrand.com/product-name (clean, descriptive slugs)
• Help center: yourbrand.com/help or help.yourbrand.com (subdomain is acceptable here)
• API documentation: docs.yourbrand.com (subdomain is standard for developer tools)

3. Visual Identity: Logo, Colors, Typography

Visual identity is what most people think of when they hear "brand identity"—but it's actually the third step, not the first. Your visuals should express the personality established by your name and positioning.

Logo Design

Your logo needs to work in every context where your brand appears:

• Wordmark — Your brand name in a distinctive typeface. The simplest and often strongest option. Google, Stripe, and Linear all use wordmarks. If your name is strong, let it do the heavy lifting.
• Icon + wordmark — A symbol paired with your name. Useful when you need a small-format mark (app icons, favicons, social avatars). Slack, Notion, and Figma use this approach.
• Icon only — Reserved for brands with massive recognition. Apple and Nike can get away with this. You can't—at least not yet.

Design your logo in these formats from day one:

• Full-color on light background
• Full-color on dark background
• Monochrome (black and white)
• Square format for social media avatars and app icons
• Favicon (16x16, 32x32, and SVG)

Color Palette

Choose a primary brand color, a secondary accent, and supporting neutrals. Colors carry psychological weight:

• Blue — Trust, reliability, professionalism. Dominant in fintech (Stripe, PayPal) and enterprise (Salesforce, LinkedIn).
• Purple — Creativity, premium, innovation. Used by Figma, Twitch, and Notion.
• Green — Growth, health, sustainability. Common in fintech (Robinhood, Mint) and wellness brands.
• Orange/Red — Energy, urgency, boldness. Used by Product Hunt, Reddit, and HubSpot.
• Black — Luxury, sophistication, authority. Apple, Uber, and high-end fashion brands.

Define your colors as hex codes, RGB values, and HSL values. Document them so every designer, developer, and marketer uses the exact same shades.

Typography

Choose two fonts maximum:

• Heading font — Can be more distinctive and expressive. This is where you show personality.
• Body font — Must be highly legible at small sizes. Stick to proven options: Inter, Geist, DM Sans, or system fonts.

4. Voice and Tone

Brand voice is how your company "sounds" in writing and speech. It should be consistent across every touchpoint—website copy, emails, social media, support tickets, and documentation.

Defining Your Voice

Describe your voice using three to four adjectives. Be specific—"professional" is too vague. Instead:

• Stripe: Precise, confident, technical, understated
• Mailchimp: Friendly, witty, casual, empowering
• Linear: Direct, minimal, opinionated, focused
• Notion: Warm, inclusive, thoughtful, creative

Voice vs. Tone

Your voice stays consistent—it's your brand's personality. Your tone adapts to context:

• Marketing page: Enthusiastic, aspirational. "Build something extraordinary."
• Error message: Helpful, reassuring. "Something went wrong. We're looking into it—try again in a moment."
• Support email: Empathetic, solution-focused. "I understand the frustration. Here's how we can fix this."
• Legal page: Clear, straightforward. No jargon, no personality needed—just transparency.

Writing Guidelines

Document these rules for anyone who writes on behalf of your brand:

• Active voice or passive voice? (Active is almost always better.)
• Contractions or not? ("We're" vs. "We are"—contractions feel more human.)
• How do you address the user? ("You" is direct and engaging.)
• Emoji usage? (None for enterprise B2B, selective for consumer brands.)
• Capitalization style for headings? (Sentence case is the modern standard.)

5. Social Media Presence

Social media is where your brand has conversations. Consistency here builds recognition and trust.

Profile Consistency Checklist

• Same handle everywhere — @yourbrand on every platform. If the exact handle isn't available, use the same variation everywhere (e.g., @getyourbrand on every platform, not @getyourbrand on one and @yourbrandHQ on another).
• Same avatar everywhere — Your logo mark or icon, sized correctly for each platform. Consistency builds pattern recognition.
• Consistent bio format — Adapt the length to each platform's limits, but keep the core message identical.
• Link to your website — Always. Use a link-in-bio tool if you need to share multiple links from platforms like Instagram.
• Cover images — Designed consistently with your brand colors and typography. Update them for major launches or campaigns.

Content Strategy Basics

You don't need to be everywhere. Pick 1–2 platforms where your target audience actually spends time, and do those well:

• B2B SaaS / Developer tools: X/Twitter + LinkedIn
• Consumer products: Instagram + TikTok
• Professional services: LinkedIn + YouTube
• Creative / Design: Instagram + Dribbble or Behance

6. Legal Protection

Building a brand without protecting it legally is like building a house without insurance. Everything might be fine—until it isn't.

Trademark Registration

A trademark gives you the exclusive legal right to use your brand name in your industry. Without it, someone else could start using your name and you'd have limited recourse.

• When to file: Once you've validated the business and are committed to the name. Most startups should file within the first 6–12 months.
• Where to file: USPTO (United States), EUIPO (European Union), or WIPO (international). Each jurisdiction is separate—a US trademark doesn't protect you in Europe.
• Cost: $250–$350 per class at the USPTO if you file yourself (TEAS Plus application). A trademark attorney costs $1,000–$2,500 but significantly increases your chances of approval.
• Classes: Trademarks are registered by category (class). A software company typically files in Class 9 (software) and Class 42 (SaaS services). You pay per class.
• Timeline: Expect 8–12 months from filing to registration, assuming no opposition.

Business Entity Protection

• LLC or Corporation — Separates your personal assets from business liability. Form this early, ideally before you launch.
• DBA (Doing Business As) — If your legal entity name differs from your brand name, file a DBA so you can legally operate under your brand name.
• Domain disputes — If someone registers a domain that infringes your trademark, UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) proceedings through WIPO can recover it—but only if you have a registered trademark.

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Putting It All Together

Brand identity isn't a weekend project—it's an ongoing practice. But the foundation can and should be laid in the first few weeks of your business. Here's the priority order:

1. Week 1: Choose your name, register your domain, claim social handles
2. Week 2: Define your color palette, choose fonts, create a basic logo
3. Week 3: Write your brand voice guidelines, create templates for common communications
4. Week 4: Launch your website with consistent branding across all pages
5. Month 2–3: File your trademark application, refine your visual identity based on real-world usage

The brands we admire most—Stripe, Notion, Linear—didn't build their identities overnight. They started with a strong foundation (especially the name) and refined everything else over time. The key is starting with intention and maintaining consistency.

If you're in the early stages of starting your business, our guide on how to start an online business walks you through the complete journey from idea to launch, including the naming and branding steps covered here.