Franchise companies are commonplace in today’s hyper-competitive consumer market – with many companies operating in multiple locations and across state lines. For a franchise company, having an effective website is critical to ensuring that its brand goes beyond brick-and-mortar locations.
Yet, many franchise companies fail to implement a website that is optimally designed to sell their company’s goods or services. If you are in the process of launching a franchise company, or if you are looking to boost digital marketing, use this guide as your checklist for new website success. When you partner with skilled professionals to help build your new website, you’ll be amazed at how easy growing franchises can be with franchise web design!
Your website is the face of your franchise company. It is often the first point of contact that a customer has with your local businesses. As such, it is important to make sure that your website makes a good first impression.
In addition to being the face of your company, your digital presence is also a powerful marketing tool. You never want an old website on the web.
A well-designed website can help you attract new customers and grow your business. But if you are going to reach today’s consumers, you have to know where they are – and how to connect with them beyond simply spewing data on a company website.
According to the National Retail Federation, over 80% of Americans now shop online – meaning that if you don’t have an effective digital presence, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to reach more customers.
Franchise companies come in all shapes and sizes. But some franchises utilize their web design to showcase their services & connect with local consumers more effectively than others. Here are a few examples:
McDonald’s: One of the most popular fast food franchises in the world, McDonald’s has also invested heavily in its franchise website. The company’s website includes a handy restaurant locator tool, as well as links to popular menu items and nutrition information. By creating a local-specific website, McDonald’s has made it easy for customers to find the nearest location and get the information they need to make an informed purchase. The color scheme is also very important for this brand and they incorporate it in their social media and online presence.
Burger King: Another fast food brand, Burger King has long been an industry leader when it comes to web design. The ‘s website is clean and easy to navigate, with clear links to important information like nutrition facts and allergen information.
Starbucks: The coffee giant Starbucks is ubiquitous in today’s society. The company has also made a concerted effort to make its website as user-friendly as possible, with links to key information like nutrition facts and allergens. The brand has also invested heavily in mobile-friendly design, making it easy for people to access its website on the go. Beyond its web design & marketing, the business has enabled mobile payment processing that makes it easier than ever for customers to make a purchase.
Chick-fil-A: Chick-fil-A is one of the most popular fast food franchises in the United States. The company has made a significant investment in its website and online brand, creating a user-friendly design that includes links to key information like nutrition facts and allergen information. Chick-fil-A has also invested in mobile-friendly design, making it easy for customers to access their website on the go.
KFC: There’s a reason that fast food companies are at the top of the list when it comes to effective franchise web design – this brand understands the importance of making it easy for customers to find key information about their company. KFC’s franchise business website includes a handy restaurant locator tool, as well as links to popular menu items and nutrition information.
Now that we’ve looked at some examples of effective franchise web design, let’s take a look at some best practices that you can use to make sure your website is up to par. By following these franchise digital marketing steps, you’ll help keep your franchisee websites thriving.
The first step in creating an effective franchise web design is to understand how consumers behave when they are interacting with franchise websites. In today’s digital world, the average consumer has a very short attention span – meaning that you have to make sure your website is designed to grab their attention and keep them engaged.
Statistics show that the average consumer will only spend a few seconds on your website before moving on to a different location. This means that you have to make sure your site is designed to quickly and effectively communicate the key information that you want your clients to know.
But this doesn’t mean you should avoid creating an engaging site. In fact, studies have shown that consumers are more likely to remember a website that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. While you don’t want to overload your website with too much information, you also want to make sure it’s designed in a way that will keep visitors engaged.
Key Idea:
The key to effective franchise web design is to understand how consumers behave when they are interacting with websites and design your site accordingly.
When it comes to franchise web design, simplicity is key. This means that you should avoid overloading your website with too much information, and instead focus on communicating the key points that you want your customer to know.
This also applies to the design of your website. Make sure that your home page is visually appealing and easy to navigate, with clear links to the most important information.
If your website is cluttered or difficult to navigate, visitors are likely to move on to something else, and will be harder to generate more leads or promote your brand.
There are a few ways you can make sure you are following the principle of simplicity in your franchise web design. First, make sure your website is designed to be responsive, meaning it will adjust to fit any screen size(Helps With SEO). This is important because more and more consumers are accessing the internet from their mobile devices.
Second, use clear and concise language throughout your website. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that your customers might not understand.
And finally, make sure your websites load quickly. Studies have shown that consumers are likely to leave a site that takes more than a few seconds to load. Nothing screams brand disinterest like a slow website. Maven uses several different tools that allow us to create the fastest sites in any industry.
Key Idea:
When it comes to franchise web design, simplicity is key. Make sure your website is designed to be responsive, with clear and concise language that is easy to navigate.
Your website is not just a place for a customer to find information about your business – it’s also an important tool for driving conversions. This means that you need to make sure your site is designed in a way that encourages visitors to take action, whether that’s signing up for your email list or visiting your franchise location.
For instance, if your franchise is focused on bringing local customers into your brick-and-mortar locations, then your site should prominently feature your address and contact information. You might also want to include a map of your locations, as well as directions on how to get there. Digital marketing makes a difference – even for physical locations.
In addition, it’s important to include clear calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout your website. A CTA is a text or button that encourages visitors to take a specific action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.
Your CTAs should be clear and concise, with a strong verb that tells the visitor exactly what you want them to do. For instance, “Sign Up Now” and “Visit Our Location” are both strong CTAs that are likely to result in conversions. We take a deep dive into CTA’s in the article “The Keys to Creating High Converting Landing Pages” Feel free to learn more.
Key Idea:
Create websites designed in a way that encourages visitors to take action, with clear calls-to-action and conversion-centric messaging.
When it comes to franchise website design, content marketing is king. This means that your website should be focused on delivering high-quality, informative content that will help people make informed decisions about your franchise.
Your content should be well-written and accurate, with a focus on providing value to the reader. In addition, all of your content should be original – copying other people’s work will not only result in lower search engine rankings, but could also get you into legal trouble.
Always have a content plan with SEO in mind. SEO helps you avoid unnecessary PPC campaigns and should fit right into your content marketing strategy. SEO is the best type of marketing. There are many different tools to help you with this; A great place to start is SEMrush.
We go in depth in the article “Maven’s 10 Tips for Quality Website Content Creation” Make sure to check it out!
– Franchise overview: Give visitors an overview of what your franchise is all about, including what services or products you offer.
– Testimonials: Include testimonials from happy customers on your website to show that your franchise is trustworthy and reliable. It is always good to show off positive feedback.
– FAQs: Address common questions and concerns that visitors might have about your franchise.
– Pricing information: Include pricing information on your website so that customers know what to expect.
–Nutrition information: If your franchises are food-based, include detailed nutrition information on your site.
–Franchise Opportunities: Include information about your franchise opportunities so that prospective franchisees can learn more about what it takes to become a business owner
When creating the content for your site, ask yourself what information your clients will be looking for. It will contribute to your inbound marketing strategy. Make sure to answer their questions clearly and concisely, without overwhelming them with too much information.
It is always smart to include a navigation bar or search function to help clients find what they are looking for faster.
And finally, don’t forget to include calls to action throughout your content. As we mentioned before, CTAs are an important part of digital marketing strategies, and they can help encourage your readers to take action. All digital marketing companies worth their salt will emphasize how important CTA’s are.
Key Idea:
Content is key when it comes to franchise web design. Make sure your website features high-quality, informative content that is original and well-written. Include calls-to-action throughout your content to encourage conversions.
While text and conversion-centric messaging matters, visuals are also important when it comes to design. In fact, the reason why many design services are so successful is because they supply the best visual content on the web. Furthermore, studies have shown that people are more likely to remember information if it is paired with a relevant image.
This means that you should use high-quality images and videos throughout your web pages, especially in the header area where they are sure to make a big impact. The goal is to “stop the scroll” – offering exciting visuals that will encourage visitors to keep scrolling down your page.
In addition to using high-quality images, you should also consider using video content on your site. Video is one of the best tools to engage visitors and give them a taste of what your franchise is all about.
– Short: Videos should be around 2 minutes or less, as people have short attention spans and are likely to click away if a video is too long.
– Engaging: Videos should be interesting and engaging, offering value to the viewer.
– Relevant: Videos should be relevant to your franchise and offer information that is relevant to potential customers.
– Optimized: Videos should be optimized for search engines so that they appear in search results. They should also function effectively on both mobile and desktop devices.
Being proficient in after effects can make your life 10X easier if you are constantly creating video content.
– A tour of your facility: Give a potential customer a tour of your facility so that they can see what it’s like to work with your franchise.
– An overview of your services: Take your business online and give visitors an overview of the services you offer and how they can benefit from working with your franchise.
– A testimonial from a happy customer: Share a testimonial from a happy customer to show customers that your franchise is trustworthy and reliable. Free Marketing!
– A behind-the-scenes look at your franchise: Give a potential customer a behind-the-scenes look at your franchise so that they can see the hard work and dedication that goes into running your business.
The team: It is an industry-standard to showcase your team to clients. Show the team that contributes to the long-term success of your well-organized brand.
Don’t forget to utilize any content on your site with your social media management. Franchise clients who utilize their new website along with social media can see a much larger ROI for their franchise’s location.
Key Idea:
Use high-quality images and videos throughout your website to engage potential customers and give them a taste of what your franchise is all about. Videos should be short, engaging, and relevant to your franchise.
In today’s world, it’s more important than ever to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. In fact, studies show that over 60% of internet traffic now comes from smartphones.
This means that if your website does not display properly on devices, you could be missing out on a lot of potential customers. Mobile optimization during development is detrimental to your SEO strategy. Your team must be able to create mobile-optimized websites.
We go in depth on this topic in the article “Importance of Fully Responsive Web Design” for your reference.
– Make sure your website loads quickly: Mobile users are impatient, and they are likely to click away if your website takes too long to load.
– Make sure your website is easy to navigate: Mobile users should be able to easily navigate your website, regardless of the device they are using. Ask yourself what you love about great mobile websites – and implement those into your design.
– Make sure your website looks good on all devices: Mobile users should be able to view your website clearly on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. You can opt to create a mobile-only landing page, or have your main site switch for mobile device use.
– Make sure your website is easy to use: This is imperative to your marketing strategy. Mobile users should be able to easily use all the features on your website, including contact forms, social media buttons, and drop-down menu options. Nothing frustrates online visitors more than forms that are difficult to operate.
Following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, many franchise businesses began to implement online ordering from their websites. With this shift came the need to add menus, online order forms, and contact information for current and prospective customers to quickly use.
If you plan to offer online ordering, make sure your website is designed in a way that makes it easy for people to place orders. Consider using large buttons and clear fonts so that users can easily tap or click on the order form.
You should also make sure the order process is streamlined and easy to follow. If you cannot figure it out, there are a lot of design services that can help with your marketing efforts.
Key Idea:
Design your website with mobile users in mind. Make sure your site is easy to navigate, quick to load and looks great on all devices. If you plan to offer online ordering, make sure the process is easy to use on any device.
When you think of franchise websites, you often think of front-end design – the part of the website that visitors see and interact with. However, it’s important to remember that the back-end development is just as important as the front-end design in digital marketing.
Back-end development refers to the server-side of things – the coding, programming skills, and databases that power your website. For your website to run smoothly, the back-end development must be carefully planned and executed.
– Choose the right hosting plan: Your hosting plan will play a role in determining how fast your website loads and how much traffic it can handle. If you expect a lot of traffic, you’ll need a more powerful hosting plan. In many cases, franchise owners will utilize a web design company that specializes in hosting and back-end development.
– Use a content management system: A content management system (CMS) will make it easy for you to update your website content without needing to know how to code. WordPress is a popular CMS that’s often used for web design. WP is great for any industry & makes it easy to create templates that any new franchises can quickly implement.
– Implement security measures: It’s important to implement security measures to protect your site and valuable information from attacks. This includes things like setting up secure passwords and using a secure hosting plan.
– Optimize your website for search engines: Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages. This can be a complex process, but there are a few simple things you can do to get started, like adding keyword-rich titles and descriptions. SEO also includes creating ongoing content that gives your site authority – such as blog posts, infographics, and eBooks. SEO is essential for local businesses to reach their highest-value clients.
Key Idea:
Don’t forget about the back-end development when planning your websites design. Choose the right hosting plan, use a content management system, and optimize your website for search engines. These things will help ensure your website runs smoothly and ranks well on search engine results pages.
After you’ve designed and developed your site, it’s important to implement it and make sure it’s up-to-date. This means adding new content regularly, keeping your menus and contact information updated, and monitoring your website traffic.
You should also make sure your site is compliant with data privacy laws, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These laws require you to get consent from website visitors before collecting or using their data. Similarly, ensure that you are following any disability laws that require you to make your website accessible to people with disabilities.
Monitor your stats to see how many people are visiting your site and which pages they’re spending the most time on. This information can help you determine what’s working well and where you need to make improvements. Use analytics software to track your website traffic and stats. Google Analytics is a popular option that’s free to use, and google provides a free guide on how to use it.
Finally, don’t forget to have your team update your website regularly. As your franchise grows, you’ll likely need to add new pages, features, and content. Updating your website regularly will help ensure it provides an accurate reflection of your business.
Key Idea:
Implement your franchise website design, monitor your traffic and stats, and update regularly. This will help ensure your website is compliant with data privacy laws, accessible to people with disabilities, and up-to-date.
A well-designed website is essential for any franchise. Your website is the first impression potential customers will have of your business and team, so it’s important to make sure it looks professional and trustworthy. In this guide, we’ve walked you through the basics of franchise web design, from choosing the right template to adding important features like contact forms and menus.
By building a strong foundation for your business, you can create a website that will help you attract new customers to your location and grow your local business. Just remember to implement security measures, use a content management system, and optimize your website for search engines. These things will help ensure your website runs smoothly and ranks well on search engine results pages.
Creating a professional, trustworthy website or websites for your franchise business doesn’t have to be difficult or overwhelming. With the help of an experienced web design and marketing company like Maven Marketing Group, you can create a site that’s not only beautiful, but also functional for years to come.
We’ll work with you to understand your business goals, marketing needs, target audience, and then we’ll design and develop a custom website that meets all of your needs. Contact us today to get started – and discover how easy and affordable it is to build a site that helps you attract new customers, potential partners, and grow your business.
Hope this article helps you out! If you want more advice for expanding your reach, getting leads, & growing your business — let us know in the comment section below!
Or if you’d like help implementing any of these tactics into your business – drop us a line! We’d love if you left a comment/question for us to answer below!
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Maven Marketing Group was founded in 2019 on the core principle of bringing small businesses into the digital age. We are a Chicago based company, with clients all over the United States (& world).
Maven Marketing Group has matured into a full-stack freelance digital marketing agency that focuses on offering high-quality web design packages, website management services, and freelance digital marketing services!
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