Software and technology companies use their websites as a central hub and conversion tool for marketing campaigns. In order to compete, your technology website must provide access to more in-depth information and conversion touch points without overwhelming the visitor. Therefore, software companies have to be very strategic in their web design.

A tech company’s website is the first impression that potential customers will get of your business. Which is precisely why a well-designed website is critical to your entire organization, from marketing and sales to the C-Suite.

Software and technology companies must remember to take a customer-first approach during design. It’s not about the company — it’s about the consumer, which means pain points and benefits should be first and above-the-fold. Interested visitors will continue to read more about the company.

Building the necessary depth to your website, including the right resources, and having a powerful call-to-action must all be tackled and executed in the most customer-centric way possible to grow any technology or digital business.

1. Landing Pages

When designing a website for a technology company, the strategy, technology, structure, and design of landing pages must be a necessary part of the process. With the use of landing pages, you can tailor the messaging to the type of potential customer, based on their search terms and ad they click through and maximize the chances they commit to the call-to-action (CTA). And that’s one of the ultimate benefits of landing pages, is driving more leads through paid search.

2. Show Products through Video or Images

To really engage the visitor, consider showing product demos in video format either on the homepage or on the products page.

You can include explanatory copy below for those who want more information, but a virtual tour or demo can help the viewer really understand the product.

Product tours create a highly visual and crystal clear explanation of the value your product or service provides. If you have a product that needs explanation, or that isn’t easy to grasp in a few short seconds, consider using a product tour to help your visitors get understanding to help them make the decision to become your customer.

3. Resource Center / Blog

A blog is one of the most powerful tools to communicate your corporate values to the public on a consistent basis. Good resource center should serve as the hub of all your inbound marketing efforts. Done well it can support your search engine optimization and social media efforts, as well as your lead generation and website conversion efforts. For technology and software companies, releasing information about new features for software or equipment is valuable to your audience. And don’t forget to keep blogging on a regular basis, as 80 percent of purchasing decision makers prefer to get information from a series of articles as opposed to ads.

Product tours create a highly visual and crystal clear explanation of the value your product or service provides. If you have a product that needs explanation, or that isn’t easy to grasp in a few short seconds, consider using a product tour to help your visitors get understanding to help them make the decision to become your customer.

4. Website Tools & Calculators

No matter what industry or customer base your technology company serves, your website design needs to go much further beyond static content. Many prospects don’t just want to see a product demo video or read a whitepaper, they want to know how your offerings might impact their specific, individual situation. Online tools for your website are a great way to both show the value of your product, as well as gather leads.

5. Building a customer community

One of the easiest, yet most effective, forms of building a customer community on your website is through online forums. Basic online forums can be easily implemented and allow customers to share thoughts, ask questions or discuss topics related to your product. Potential customers and sales prospects can browse the forums, see what common issues have arisen, and generally how people interact with your brand.

It’s important to note that if you do choose to include a forum on your website, to make sure there are moderators and administrators to constantly monitor the discussion.

6. Minimize Cluttered Text

The content should be relevant to your buyer, and you should use formats that are appealing. When publishing long copy, use graphics to explain points visually. You can also use card design, which breaks up concepts to different cards, each with an icon or image and text. These design elements will maintain the need for more copy and create a visually appealing site.

7. Growth-driven design model

Companies that design their website and then leave it for years without updates most likely see low conversion rates. Instead, dynamic companies are investing in the growth-driven design model, which focuses on continual learning and improvement. Instead of completely redesigning a website every few years, the growth-driven design model focuses on shorter “sprints” for continual design updates based on testing and analysis.