5 best practices of transportation and logistics website design to attract customers

When it comes to web design and development for a logistics and transportation company there are several best practices and strategic changes that you can make to attract more users and drive sales. In general, the basic practices of web designing apply to all websites, but here we take a look at some tips to design a professional logistics website that converts. We also understand how to build a transportation and logistics website in India, main features of a logistics website design, and logistics website creative tips to get started.

Best practices to build a transportation and logistics website

Before you build a logistics company website, you need to decide on three things:

• Will you hire a web design and development company to build the website or will you engage your in-house resources to the task?
• What is the project budget and timelines? That is, even if you are building the website in-house, there will be costs involved, e.g., software licences, web domain, purchasing images, etc.
• What are the basic must-have features of your logistics website? That is, what features are essential for the MVP (minimum viable product) and what are the good-to-have features that can be added to the website in time.

In brief, whether you are building a logistics or trucking company website, or a website for a freight forwarding company, courier company, 3PL or 4PL company, defining these there aspects is a good place to get started with your logistics and transportation website designing project.

On that note, let’s look at the some guiding tips to create a logistics and transportation website.

1. Showcase your key offerings on the transportation website

There’s no end to the number of logistics and transportation companies in India today, each offering different types of logistics services. As such, a key tip to ensure more traffic and conversion from your logistics website is by highlighting your main logistics services.

Since logistics is a competitive field, you need to decide if you want to establish your brand as a generalist or specialist logistics service provider. Accordingly, you need to showcase your key offerings. Support it with suitable images, client testimonials, videos, website copy, downloadable content and similar.

For instance, if you are a 3PL service provider, your website content should highlight:

• The diversity of your services
• How you are different from other 3PLs
• What are the value-added services you offer e.g., 3PL warehousing
• The strength of your team and fleet
• Locations you serve
• Your partners and clients etc.

In brief, your logistics website should be able to build trust in your potential customers that you know your job, you are among the best in what you are doing, and you have the experience, expertise and resources required to carry it out.

2. Prioritise website performance metrics

How well your logistics platform performs can be a deal breaker. When you create transportation websites for business, it’s imperative to test its performance. Many businesses make the error of focusing on other aspects of the website only. A high performing logistics website is a sure shot winning formula.

When building a website therefore, it’s recommended to check the extensibility of a platform, i.e., building a strong foundation that is flexible and can be expanded with new features and capabilities when required.

Some of the top transportation website performance metrics can be:

• Page speed for mobile and browser
• Loading or rendering time, i.e., how soon your website displays content
• Time to interact, i.e., how much time it takes for users to start interacting with content by typing text, clicking links, etc.
• Bounce rate, i.e., the single page visit for your website or how quickly users leave your website
• Conversion rate, i.e., how many users visit your website and convert to a customer either by filling in the form, chatting, sending an enquiry, subscribing to the newsletter etc.

If you have these performance metrics in check, it’s likely your customers will have a brilliant user browsing experience.

3. Incorporate key features and functionalities in your logistics website

Whether you are building a website for a logistics franchise or truck transport company or a freight forwarding business, there are some key features of a logistics website that each must have. For instance, some of the main features of a logistics and transport website can include:

• Shipment booking: This refers to the entire shipment booking experience. How easy or difficult it is to book a shipment online, what’s the booking flow experience, what are the value-added services available (e.g., packaging, palletised shipping, express or expedited shipping services, etc.), how can payments be made, etc.
• Payment gateway/journey: This refers to how users can pay on your logistics website. If you look at the top logistics website examples, you’ll understand that the best practice requires keeping multiple payment options – net banking, debit/credit card, UPI, payment wallets, etc. Payments should also be doubly secured and quick, with OTPs being sent in seconds.
• Shipment tracking features: When customers book a shipment, they are provided with an Order number and Tracking number. This is to enable customers to track the status of their shipment and get the estimated time of arrival without having to contact customer service repeatedly. Your logistics and transportation website should be built such that customers can easily track their order status in real time by using the Tracking ID. Self-service is becoming an increasingly popular feature and businesses across industries are adding it to reduce cost and optimise time.
• Live chat based enquiry features: Another important feature to keep in mind when you create transportation website is to include a live chat feature. This is because customers/visitors can have numerous queries and live chat is a quick and effective way to provide answers to them. You can also use AI chatbots and templates to streamline the process. In most cases, these chat interactions can lead to instant bookings and conversions to increase sales in logistics business.

4. Keep it easy to connect with your brand

When you deliberate on how to build a transportation and logistics website in India, ensure that you keep it easy for customers to connect with and reach out to you.

This means that when you create logistics website, it’s vital that you include a ‘Contact Us’ section for customers to find out how to connect with you. Here are some logistics website examples for highlighting the ‘contact us’ section:

• Dedicated Contact Us page: The first thing you need to include is a ‘Contact Us’ section on your website. This page should feature on the top navigation menu or in a strategic spot for visibility and easy access. Details like phone numbers, email addresses, office addresses, etc. should feature here. A contact-us form is also recommended.
• Social media handles on footer: Logistics business promotions on social media channels has become the norm. From creating brand awareness to lead generation, logistics companies use social media for various business outcomes. When you build your business website, you should include all social media handle/links on the footer or any other suitable spot for audiences to follow and engage with you on social media.
• Lead capture form: A lead capture form is another channel for prospective customers to contact your logistics business. Keep it short, relevant and collect important information that will enable you to offer customised services.
• Website pop-ups: A website pop-up can be used to collect information either during exit or on any intent based page. Website popups are effective as it gives customers the opportunity to connect with the business based on intent. For example, if you are conducting a webinar on logistics vendor managed inventory, a pop-up can appear on relevant sections, prompting sign-ups.
• Live chats: As we already discussed, live chats are a great way to answer instant queries. In most cases, live chats can be started by providing email address and name, which can further be used for lead nurturing.

5. Include an online shipment cost calculator

This is another strategy for logistics website design that can drive engagement and sales online. Before booking a shipment, it’s natural for users to enquire about prices, i.e., the cost of logistics shipping. A professional website will allow visitors to calculate this online by furnishing basic information.

For instance, when you explore Logistics on Tata nexarc, you can easily get an estimate on your shipping cost by using the ‘Shipping rate estimator’. You need to input the Source and Destination pincode and total weight of your shipment. Based on which you will get an estimate.

Logistics cost calculation example:

Source pincode – 600046 (Chennai)

Destination pincode – 400095 (Mumbai)

Once you enter the pincodes, a green tick mark with ‘Serviceable’ will appear, indicating that the shipment is possible.

Total weight – 300 kgs

When you click on ‘Calculate’ the online shipping calculate will provide you an estimate based on your input.

Expected delivery – 6 days

Shipping charges stating at – ₹2,836 (Prices are base prices and can change based on volumetric weight and value-added services)

How to build a transportation and logistics website in India

To create a transportation website is the first thing you need to do if you want to attract customers and improve the online sales journey. Here are some key steps to build a logistics website:

• Select a business name, check for domain (domain name) and purchase it online
• Choose a hosting service and based on your requirements, purchase the right plan
• Identify the key features of the website and work on it, e.g., online booking, real-time order tracking, contact us, shipping cost calculator, payment gateway, live chats, etc.
• Design the page layout and important pages, e.g., Homepage, about us, services, contact us, careers or work/drive for us, fleet information, etc.
• Build SEO and content capabilities
• Test and do quality check
• Analyse performance and enhance the website in a planned manner