6 Website Tips for Manufacturers
by MGB2B
Plastic and steel and adhesive compounds are not sexy. But that doesn’t mean they can’t look and sound their best on your website. It may take a little work, but it will be worth it. Your website is, in essence, your brand, which means it needs to be working as hard as possible.
My colleague, Vin DiGioia, wrote a few weeks ago about the strategy needed to build a website that doesn’t suck. Once you have a solid strategy in place, the design and copy need to carry it through. Here are 6 website tips for manufacturers to get the writing and design right.
- Be as clear as possible about what you are selling. “Well, duh,” you might say. But when you know your company like the back of your hand, it’s easy to get lost in your own jargon. I’ve seen it on dozens of manufacturing websites. Have an ad agency or professional copywriter create copy for your home page and the intro copy for all of your sub-pages. The outside perspective will make what your brand does clear to anyone who stumbles upon your site – the media, prospects, prospects’ spouses. Anyone who visits should understand you immediately. They should also connect with you in some way. Corporate copy often fails on both counts.
- Draw the line between your brand and your competitors. Clarity is key, but it’s also important to have a point of difference that sets you apart from your competitors. Decision makers who land on your site need to understand what makes your brand better within seconds, so your differentiating copy needs to come early on and be written with strength and simplicity.
- Don’t design just for aesthetic. Design for action. The main purpose of a manufacturer’s website is lead generation. To capture a lead, the design of a website needs to drive prospects exactly where you want them to go.
- Make your buttons the stars. Call to action buttons are the most important design elements on your website. They should be easy to read and have clear, concise language. And they MUST be seen. Even just changing the color can increase conversion rates.
- Use good photography. Your products and your brand are worthy of professional photography. Find money in the budget to make it happen if you haven’t already. Stock photography should be a last resort. Suggestion: don’t use your cousin who “takes great photos.” Use someone who has experience shooting for a company that produces something similar to what you offer but is in a different vertical. That way they have expertise in your industry, but you’ll be their only client in your category, so there’s no conflict of interest.
- Carefully choose your keywords. Despite any of Google’s recent changes, keywords are still an essential part of SEO. Search results are still dictated by the words that people type into a search engine. Which means the right words have to be in the right places on your site – without sacrificing the integrity of the message.
While these are only a few tips to get you started, implementing these changes can make a huge difference in how long your visitors stay, how likely they are to click through to other pages on your site, and whether or not they’ll convert. Want more tips to get your manufacturing website working harder? Drop us a line.
Tags: b2b website design, call to action, copywriting, photography, web layout, web messaging, website tips for manufacturers