What a web team needs before it can implement a brand properly

A brand handover for a website is more than a logo folder. The web team needs usable files, clear rules, confirmed rights and named decision-makers. Missing any of these can create inconsistent pages, accessibility problems, slow approvals and expensive rework.

Use this checklist before design or development begins. Record each item as ready, not applicable, or action required, and give every open action an owner and due date.

1. Approved logo package

• Primary, secondary and compact logo variations are supplied.
• Vector masters are available in SVG, EPS or suitable editable format.
• PNG exports include transparent-background versions.
• Light, dark, single-colour and full-colour treatments are identified.
• Favicon or app-icon artwork remains legible at small sizes.
• One file is clearly marked as the approved master.

Acceptance test: open the SVG, transparent PNG and favicon. Confirm that none is blurred, cropped or dependent on a missing font.

2. Colour specifications

• Approved HEX and RGB values are documented for digital use.
• Primary, secondary, neutral, success, warning and error colours are identified where applicable.
• Approved foreground/background combinations are recorded.
• Colour is not the only way important information is communicated.

Acceptance test: test text, buttons, form states and links for sufficient contrast. A brand colour suitable for a large graphic may not be suitable for small text.

3. Typography and font rights

• The exact font family, weights and styles are named.
• Webfont licences and permitted domains are confirmed.
• Font files or hosted font access are provided legally.
• Fallback fonts are agreed for email, documents and failed webfont loading.
• Heading and body-text hierarchy is documented.

Acceptance test: load every required weight on a test page and confirm that bold, italic and special characters work without synthetic styling.

4. Image and icon rights

• Photography, illustration, icons and patterns have identifiable sources.
• Website, advertising, social and geographic usage rights are confirmed.
• Attribution requirements and licence expiry dates are recorded.
• Decorative mock-ups are separated from production assets.
• Images containing text are avoided unless an accessible equivalent is provided.

Acceptance test: each production image has an owner, licence record and intended use. A copied image or presentation mock-up is not automatically cleared for publication.

5. Digital brand rules

• Logo clear space and minimum sizes are specified.
• Button, link, form and navigation styles are defined.
• Photography, illustration and icon direction is explained.
• Examples show correct and incorrect usage.
• Mobile behaviour is considered, not only desktop layouts.

Acceptance test: a designer unfamiliar with the project can create a basic page header, button and card without guessing the brand rules.

6. Content and tone

• The preferred brand name, capitalisation and short description are approved.
• Tone-of-voice examples cover headings, body copy, calls to action and error messages.
• Product and service names are consistent.
• Claims requiring evidence or legal approval are identified.
• Australian English is used where appropriate.

Acceptance test: compare the homepage heading, contact-page language and form messages. They should sound like one organisation.

7. Accessibility requirements

• Text and interactive elements meet agreed contrast requirements.
• Heading levels follow a logical order.
• Images have meaningful alt text, or empty alt text when decorative.
• Links make sense out of context rather than relying on “click here”.
• Keyboard focus is visible and the main journey can be completed without a mouse.
• Video has captions and audio content has a transcript where required.

Acceptance test: complete the main enquiry or purchase path using keyboard-only navigation and a mobile device. Automated testing is useful, but it does not replace manual checks.

8. Website structure and page ownership

• The approved sitemap and navigation labels are available.
• Every page has a named content owner and approver.
• Required legal, privacy and contact pages are identified.
• Duplicate or superseded pages are marked for consolidation.
• Page purpose and primary call to action are clear.

Acceptance test: each planned page answers who it is for, what it must communicate and what the visitor should do next.

9. SEO and search migration inputs

• Existing high-value URLs are recorded before replacement.
• Redirect requirements map each retired URL to the closest relevant new page.
• Page titles, descriptions, headings and image alt text have owners.
• The preferred domain, business name, address and phone format are confirmed.
• Analytics, Search Console and tag-management ownership is known.

Acceptance test: crawl the staging sitemap and redirect map before launch. Do not discover missing legacy URLs after search traffic falls.

10. Technical and performance standards

• Supported browsers, devices and screen sizes are agreed.
• Image dimensions, formats and compression expectations are documented.
• Third-party scripts, fonts, chat tools and tracking tags are listed.
• Cookie and consent requirements are confirmed.
• Hosting, DNS, email and security ownership is clear.

Acceptance test: test the representative homepage and lead page on mobile with production-like images and scripts, not placeholder content.

11. Forms, enquiries and system connections

• Each form has an approved set of fields and consent wording.
• Required recipients and backup recipients are confirmed.
• Success, validation and failure messages follow the brand voice.
• CRM, email marketing, booking and payment integrations have owners.
• Test submissions use clearly labelled test data and are removed after acceptance.

Acceptance test: submit every form from mobile and desktop, confirm delivery, verify the stored data and test what happens when a required field is missing.

12. Approval, launch and ongoing ownership

• One person has final authority for brand approval.
• Technical, content, accessibility and legal approvals are separately recorded where needed.
• Launch-day roles and rollback responsibility are assigned.
• Master files, credentials and licences are held in business-controlled accounts.
• Post-launch checks and review dates are scheduled.

Acceptance test: the approval record states what was reviewed, who approved it, the date, and any accepted exceptions. Silence should not count as approval.

Compact handover register

Reference standards and useful guidance

• W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
• Australian National University web publishing checklists: https://webpublishing.anu.edu.au/step-by-step-guide/preparing-content/author
• University of Wollongong accessibility checklist for content creators: https://www.uow.edu.au/web-accessibility/web-accessibility-reference-site/what-you-can-do/checklist-for-content-creators/

Prepared for publication by Branding Experts, Brisbane: https://brandingexperts.com.au/