How to Create & Share Brand Guidelines Online

Brand guidelines ensure everyone who represents your brand - employees, freelancers, agencies, partners - uses your visual identity consistently. A shared, accessible brand guide prevents off-brand designs and saves time answering repetitive questions.

What to Include in Brand Guidelines

Logo Usage

Primary logo and variations (horizontal, stacked, icon-only)
Minimum size requirements
Clear space rules (how much padding around the logo)
Incorrect usage examples (stretching, recoloring, etc.)
File formats available and when to use each (SVG, PNG, EPS)

Color Palette

Primary brand colors with exact values (HEX, RGB, CMYK, Pantone)
Secondary and accent colors
Background color rules
Color combinations to use and avoid
Dark mode variations if applicable

Typography

Primary and secondary typefaces
Font weights and when to use each
Heading hierarchy and sizes
Body text specifications
Web-safe fallback fonts

Imagery and Photography

Photo style guidelines (lighting, mood, composition)
Illustration style if applicable
Icon style and library
Image treatment rules (filters, overlays, cropping)

Voice and Tone

Brand personality traits
Writing style guidelines
Words to use and words to avoid
Example copy for common scenarios

Templates and Assets

Social media post templates
Email signature format
Presentation template
Business card layout
Letterhead design

Design Your Brand Guidelines

Free Tools

Canva - Brand kit templates with organized sections
Google Slides - Easy to collaborate and export as PDF
Notion - Good for living documents that change frequently
Figma - Ideal if your team already uses it for design

Design Tips

Use your own brand guidelines within the document itself
Include plenty of visual examples, not just text rules
Show "do" and "don't" comparisons side by side
Keep it concise - 15-30 pages covers most brands
Number your pages and include a table of contents

How to Share Brand Guidelines

The worst place for brand guidelines is buried in a shared drive folder that nobody opens. Make them accessible:

Export your brand guide as a PDF
Upload to Linkyhost for a permanent shareable link
Pin the link in your team Slack or Teams channel
Include it in onboarding documents for new hires
Send it to every external partner, agency, and freelancer

Why a Hosted Link Works Best

Always current - Update the PDF and the same link serves the new version
No access issues - Anyone with the link can view it, no login required
Works on any device - Designers can reference it on desktop, stakeholders can view on mobile
Easy to bookmark - Team members save one link and always have the latest version

Keeping Guidelines Updated

Brand guidelines are living documents. Review and update them when:

You refresh your visual identity
You add new brand colors or fonts
You expand to new platforms or channels
You notice recurring off-brand usage
You onboard a new agency or partner

Upload the updated PDF to Linkyhost and the link stays the same.

Get Started

Create your brand guidelines, export as a PDF, and share them on Linkyhost for free with a single link.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Making guidelines too long. A 100-page brand guide sounds thorough, but nobody reads it. Keep yours between 15-30 pages. Focus on the rules people actually need day to day — logo usage, colors, fonts, and voice. Save edge cases for a supplementary document.

Not including visual examples. Telling someone "maintain clear space around the logo" means nothing without a visual showing exactly how much space. Every rule should have an image demonstrating correct and incorrect usage.

Forgetting digital-specific guidance. Print guidelines do not cover everything. Include specifications for social media profile images, email signatures, favicon dimensions, and dark mode color variations. These are the contexts where your brand appears most often.

Storing guidelines in an inaccessible location. If your brand guide lives in a nested folder on a shared drive, people will not use it. Host it as a PDF with a shareable link and pin that link everywhere your team communicates.

Never updating the document. Brands evolve. If your guidelines still reference a color you retired two years ago, they lose credibility. Review and update at least annually.

Brand Guidelines Checklist

Use this checklist to make sure your guide is complete:

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should brand guidelines be updated?

Review your brand guidelines at least once a year or whenever you make a significant change to your visual identity. If you notice recurring off-brand usage in a specific area, that is a signal to clarify the guidance. Upload the revised PDF to Linkyhost and the same link will serve the updated version automatically.

What format should brand guidelines be in?

PDF is the most reliable format because it preserves your layout exactly as designed and works on every device. Some teams also maintain a web-based version in Notion or a wiki for easy updating. For distribution, a hosted PDF link is the most portable — share it via Linkyhost so anyone can view it without needing special software or login credentials.

Should brand guidelines include social media templates?

Yes. Social media is where most brand inconsistency happens because multiple people create content across platforms. Include template files for common post sizes, story formats, and cover images. Provide download links for these templates within the guidelines document or host the template files using free file hosting so your team can grab them anytime.