In the manufacturing domain, it is all about first impressions. These initial impressions are very important as they help to build credibility and trust with prospective customers.
Often, the website is the first digital touchpoint for every industrial company. When a prospective buyer begins his research online, the first place he visits is a company’s website. Thus, updating and maintaining a website for manufacturers is extremely critical.
In this article, we will look at the eight most crucial elements of a good website design for manufacturers. If you pay attention to these elements, you will be able to develop a website that attracts prospects, generates leads, and boosts your business profits.
Notable Elements of a Good Website Design for Manufacturing Companies
1. HTTPS Encryption
Although not a design element, it is one of the most critical components of a good website. The first thing that every customer is concerned about is data security and privacy. Therefore, moving your website from HTTP to HTTPS along with adding SSL encryption is a great way to provide customers with that assurance. It will increase their faith in your company, knowing that all their information is in safe hands.
2. A clean layout design
Simple and clear designs work the best. If you want your visitors to have a good website browsing experience, make sure to have a website that is easy to use and navigate. Avoid using too many colors, fonts, complicated messages, overpowering visuals, or unbearable popups. All of this is most likely to put off visitors. Keep the elements simple with effective calls to action.
3. Branded elements
Remember, your manufacturing website is an extension of your brand. Thus, it should reflect your brand and its values. It should serve as an accurate digital reflection of your company. And this means sticking to your brand color scheme, utilizing a high-res logo, paying attention to your core value proposition, and much more.
4. Intuitive navigation
One crucial indicator of a website’s effectiveness is the bounce rate. In most cases, a high bounce rate is caused by factors such as inappropriate information, spammy website appearance, or unclear navigation.
Bad navigation for manufacturing websites hinders the prospects from taking the appropriate action. If your website transitions the visitors from one subject to a sales pitch for a completely unrelated service, it will only confuse the users and increase the bounce rate. So make sure to have a logical navigational path that guides the users right.
5. Mobile responsive
In today’s technologically advanced world, most business is done on tablets and mobile devices. Therefore, it is supremely important for all manufacturers to have a website that is responsive on mobile devices.
A large number of industrial buyers are millennials who are tech-savvy. These millennials are using their smartphones to do the browsing and decide whether or not to do business with a company. Having a responsive website assures this tech-savvy generation that the company is up-to-date, making them more inclined to do business with them.
6. Product catalog capabilities
A lot of manufacturers offer very complex products. Sometimes, these products are so compound that it ends up confusing the customers. And if the prospects cannot understand the product and its use cases, they will hardly be compelled to purchase it.
To solve this problem, manufacturers can make configuration technologies available on their websites. This will make it much easier for the prospects to understand the product’s capabilities. Additionally, it will reduce intensive engineering and customer service calls, offering a good user experience.
7. Contact Us page
The final aim of every manufacturing website is to generate leads. And for that, you must make sure that it is easy for your prospects to contact you. A comprehensive contact us page that provides easy ways for prospects to reach you is an excellent way to gather leads. It is a good practice to include a link to the contact us page in your navigation menu so that website visitors can access it quickly.
8. Unique and informative content
Offering unique, relevant, informative, and actionable content is the best way to ensure that your visitors stay on your website for a long time. It is an excellent way to allow visitors to learn more about your business and your products, and ultimately turn them into paying customers.
So, take time to develop content pieces such as case studies, engaging blog posts, eBooks, whitepapers, videos, etc. that add value to the visitors and persuade them to take action.
Getting Started with an Effective Manufacturing Website
Creating a good and effective manufacturing website takes a lot of effort. After all, a website is among the most significant aspects of manufacturing marketing. Paying attention to the aforementioned components will help you launch a successful website.
Additionally, you can consult the services of an experienced digital marketing agency such as StratMg to get started. The agency works with a team of qualified and expert website designers and developers that can help you develop a robust online presence.
