From Boring to Bright: 6 “Must Haves” for Your Budding Business Website
If you’re like most freight brokers or logistics professionals, you know that having a professional website is essential for attracting customers. But what many business owners don’t realize is that it’s not enough to just have a website – it needs to be interesting and up-to-date as well. A boring or outdated website could mean lost business, so it’s important to keep your site fresh and engaging. Easier said than done.
Creating and maintaining a website requires a few important steps: conceptualizing, building/programming, evaluating the results, and ongoing updates to get visitors interested in checking back. We are going to look into the general idea of these 4 steps and zoom into specifics for Freight Brokering, Trucking / Dispatching websites. Let’s show you how to get started.
Conceptualization
This stage would require one’s ability to research. You don’t just create a website on a whim. You need your website to be relevant to your target audience.
Here are some essential elements to include on your website to make it both visually appealing and easy to navigate:
1. Choose a Domain Name and Hosting Plan
The first step is to choose a domain name for your website – that is, the www.yourwebsite.com part. Once you’ve chosen a domain name, you’ll need to find a hosting plan – that is, a place to host your website so people can see it online. There are many different options available, but we recommend using WordPress.org as it’s easy to use and has plenty of features to help you create a professional website.
2. You Need A Catchy Headline
Aside from your logo to establish your identity, you’ll also need a great URL (IE: www.MyWebsite.com). After that, the most important catchy headline is really important. Your headline should be attention-grabbing and relevant to your business. It should also be short and to the point – you want potential customers to know what you do without having to wade through a lot of text.
3. Clear and Easy-to-Understand Content.
Yes, we understand that you would want your website to be as comprehensive, respectable, and professional looking. But when writing content for your website, be sure to use clear, concise language that your target audience will understand. Avoid industry jargon and acronyms, and focus on explaining what you do in simple terms. Most major newspapers are written at a fifth-grade level and your website should be too.
4. A Clean and Modern Design
Your website should have a clean, modern design that is easy on the eyes. Avoid using too many colors or busy patterns – Stick to a simple color scheme and use plenty of white space to break up your content. Also, be sure to choose fonts that are easy to read – nothing too fancy or difficult to decipher.
5. A Clear Call to Action
Your website should have a clear call to action – that is, an invitation for your visitors to take some kind of action, such as signing up for your newsletter or contacting you for more information. Be sure to make your call to action prominent and easy to find – it should be one of the first things visitors see when they land on your site.
6. Responsive Design
In this era, more people are visiting websites from their mobile devices than ever before. That means it’s essential to have a responsive design – that is, a design that looks good and functions well on both desktop and mobile screens. Be sure to test your website on all different devices to make sure it looks and works the way you want it to.
7. Optimized for Search Engines
If you want potential customers to be able to find your website, it’s important to optimize it for search engines like Google. That means using keyword-rich titles and descriptions, as well as including relevant keywords throughout your content.
Execution
Now that you’ve planned out or at least have the idea of what to have on your website, let’s know how to start creating it.
Creating a website can seem like a daunting task, but if you break it down into smaller steps, it’s not that difficult. The best way to build a top-quality freight broker or trucking website is to use a system like EZ Freight Websites. They specialize in websites for the transportation industry and can help you get going FAST!
Promoting Your Website
The final step is to promote your website – that is, to make sure people can find it online. The best way to do this is to submit your site to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools so search engines can index it properly.
We know what you’re thinking! These are easy to read but not to execute. These steps still seem stressful and time-consuming. Now, there’s always that option to hire a tech-savvy developer, but this usually comes with a hefty price.
Fortunately, there’s also this very smart technique used by many budding companies. They use website building systems like EZ Freight Websites, where all they have to do is select from their existing layouts, plugin their logo, change some colors, and voila, you have a professional website, ready to launch in just a few clicks. There are even video tutorials on Youtube prepared for the tasks you have in mind.
Ready To Get Started
Creating a website can be an overwhelming task. There are so many things to consider, from the conceptualization stage to the design phase and finally launching your site. In this article, we’ve outlined some of the key steps involved in creating a website, as well as how to evaluate whether or not your website is meeting your business goals. By following these tips you’ll be on your way to having a successful website that attracts customers and helps grow your business. We recommend checking out EZ Freight Websites since it’s the fastest and easiest way to build a GREAT website for your business.
