The Industrial Web Design: Industrial Agency Collaboration
Are you considering working with a manufacturing marketing agency to update or overhaul your company website? You might be about to start or maybe you’re at the tail end of the process already. Either way, here are a few tips that will help you end up with most value for money and the best website for your company when working with an industrial marketing agency.
Although each manufacturing marketing agency will have its own name for its manufacturing website design process, they all generally cover the same four phases:
The Four Phases of Industrial Web Design
1) Discovery
This is arguably the most important part of the whole manufacturing website design process because the beginning will set the tone of the whole project. The working relationship you develop with your manufacturing marketing agency will most likely determine how you’ll work with them throughout the entire project.
At this phase, it’s extremely important to have open communication lines with your manufacturing marketing agency because you need to give them all the information you can about your company. You will need to tell them what you like in a website, who your competitors are, and how you want the site you look. This is also the phase when you give them all the brand assets and collateral you have available so that they have everything they need to be successful in the project.
2) Design
The design phase is when you see the mock-up of your future industrial website design. The agency will present either wireframes, a PDF, or an Adobe Photoshop designed mock-up website for you to check. It is a critical phase because this is when you’ll approve the design (or as your industrial marketing agency to go make some changes). It’s important to check that the mock-up checks all the boxes of what makes a great website.
There are a few important things to keep in mind on the industrial web design front. Your industrial website, and homepage especially, needs to be a reflection of your brand. And to minimize confusion for site visitors, make sure your design doesn’t have too many subpages. Instead, it’s better to have a simple menu structure.
You’ll also need to provide enough relevant content on the homepage to boost your manufacturing SEO. Otherwise, you can’t hope to rank highly in online search results. It’s important to make sure before partnering with a manufacturing marketing agency or industrial advertising agency that they understand how to optimize a website for SEO. Some examples of these important considerations include a clear call to action, a visible link to your blog, an easy newsletter sign up, and each page should have a minimum of 750 words.
Are you looking for a manufacturing marketing agency that you can trust to get the job done well and on time? At MFG Tribe, we specialize in improving online brand awareness through industrial marketing. Consult the experts and find out the results you can expect to see when you partner with us. We understand the ins and outs of your product and what you do, we understand your market, and we have the technical capabilities to get the job done right!
There is another trend in industrial marketing that you might want to consider – have a Calendly link embedded in the website that will allow interested potential clients to directly set an appointment with an industrial sales engineer at your company. This saves on emails, automated chat bots, and a lot of back and forth between the company and a potential client.
Lastly, for this phase, make sure that you inform the manufacturing marketing agency you are working with about any changes you want to made the site before you sign off. Any changes after approval will cost you extra time and money.
3) Develop
This is the phase where the manufacturing marketing agency will code your site. When it’s done, you’ll be able to test how well it works. Make sure all the links lead to the right pages, all the buttons are functional, and the site flows how you want it to. Put yourself in your customer persona’s shoes when going through the site. Is it easy to navigate? Is the call to action clear? Is the contact information easy to find? Now is the time to test the whole site. If something isn’t working, inform your agency immediately.
4) Deploy
At this point, your manufacturing marketing agency will deploy your industrial website. This is when the old site will temporarily be taken down so the new one can replace it and “go live”. The agency will most likely need a week or two to get this part done. If the job is done well, you can also expect your manufacturing SEO to improve dramatically.
When the site is deployed, make sure to keep on testing it. Check that the entire site is working and that everything you agreed upon with the agency is present. Make sure it looks like the design you signed off on, and that it works how it’s supposed to work. Don’t forget to double check that Google Analytics is properly installed in the new site so you can start monitoring your website traffic.
One more thing you can check on is the website heat map, so you can see which parts of the website are getting the most traffic. From this data, you can improve what needs to be fixed and maintain what’s working. Of course, the things that you want to improve should be minor, such as changing photos or adding more content. In terms of the site itself, you shouldn’t be changing anything anymore after deployment.
Know When to Call Industrial Web Design Experts
The web design process can be tedious and time-consuming. Depending on how well you work with your manufacturing marketing agency or manufacturing marketing firm (or whoever is doing the manufacturing web design for you), it can take a few weeks or many months from beginning to end.
However, a new website can be a game-changer for many companies. When working on your web design process, make sure you keep in mind the manufacturing website design tips above. This will help you maximize your time and money while producing the best possible website for your company.
Industrial marketing strategies don’t develop overnight. And the best ones require years of experience and careful planning. There is no such thing as instant gratification here. If you feel stuck, consider reaching out to a manufacturing marketing agency with expertise in your industry. If you want the best in the business, give MFG Tribe a call. Visit our website to learn more now!