Engineering Website Design: How to Build a Great Engineering Website

Passionate about sales management, marketing and my family. Why do I work here? I get a kick out of helping businesses to find new work. 
 

 

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If you’re looking for some ideas surrounding engineering website design, then you’ve come to the right place! Your website is a crucial marketing tool, but when it comes to finding engineering website design inspiration, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Why is a good website important? Well, with the rise of the internet, buyers have changed the ways they purchase services. A good website acts as a shopfront which can attract potential customers - a bad one can repel them altogether and cost you business.

Luckily, the features of a good website are universal, no matter what the industry. The rules of what a good website needs tend not to vary too much from sector to sector. However, when it comes to engineering website design, there are a few additional tweaks you can make that will set your site apart from the crowd. 

Over the years, I’ve helped many engineering SMEs to develop their websites, resulting in tangible business benefits. In this article, I’ll show you some great engineering website examples, as well as talking through the characteristics of a good website.


Engineering Website Design Tip 1 - Make Your Engineering Website Design Your Priority:

Many engineering companies start out enthusiastic about building a good website, but fail to dedicate the time needed to turn their vision into reality. For instance, I recently worked with a company who wanted to create a website in seven days, but took two months to send me the relevant information!

There’s no getting away from the fact that engineering website design requires an initial investment of time, but once it’s up and running, little maintenance will be needed. Therefore, it’s better to bite the bullet and make building a website your priority. If you really don’t have the time to work on this project yourself, then delegate it to another staff member who does.


Engineering Website Design Tip 2 - DIY Vs Outsourcing:

Most engineering websites don’t have to be all-singing-and-dancing, meaning that you may be able to save money by building it in-house.

The first choice you will have to make when it comes to building a good engineering website is whether or not to do it yourself, or outsource it to an external company. Firstly, most engineering websites don’t have to be all-singing-and-dancing, meaning that you may be able to save money by building it in-house. Secondly, nobody knows your business better than yourself, meaning that you may be better qualified to undertake this task than a professional web design agency. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t use an agency; however, it’s best to select one with an understanding of the industry, otherwise you risk the context of your message being lost or misconstrued.

What do you need to make a good website? Primarily, you’re going to need to select a hosting site. Luckily, there are plenty of hosting sites that are user-friendly and provide even novices with all the tools they need - think Wix or GoDaddy if you’re completely new to engineering website design. Secondly, you’re going to need excellent copy and images (more on that later). Last but not least, you’re going to need the confidence and patience it takes to build your website from the ground up. Remember, it doesn’t need to be overly-complicated and can be very simple. This leads us onto another commonly-asked question - is a one-page website good or bad? The answer is that a one-page engineering website can be effective, provided it is designed well and includes all of the information your prospects and customers require.


Engineering Website Design Tip 3 - Make Your Website Responsive:

When you’re building your engineering website, take the time to ensure it’s mobile-friendly. Here at Qimtek, we found that 60% of our page views came from mobile devices - if this is representative of the larger population, then you could potentially be losing out on 60% of potential new business if your site is desktop-only. There’s nothing more frustrating than encountering an incompatible website - fortunately, most website builders now incorporate a tool which shows you how your site will appear on a mobile.


Engineering Website Design Tip 4 - Spend Time on Your Images and Logo:

Your logo should be a clean, simple design that doesn’t look overly ‘busy’.

Your engineering website should look aesthetically-pleasing, which is where images and a logo comes into play. By including a gallery of work you’ve completed, as well as your premises, you give potential customers confidence in your abilities, meaning that they’ll be more likely to use your services. Any images you use should be high-quality - that might mean using photo editing software to make them look as good as possible. 

When it comes to your logo, it’s best to select a clean, simple design that doesn’t look overly ‘busy’. Remember, your logo is going to be used in a lot of places, making it worth spending the necessary time to get right. The same can be said of your strapline, which needs to clearly state what you do instead of being excessively abstract or ‘clever’.

One final point to mention when it comes to engineering website appearance is the colour scheme. What are some good colours of websites? Well, good website colour schemes definitely do not clash, but also stay in keeping with the company logo and marketing literature. To make selected a good website colour scheme easier, why not use a dedicated tool such as Coolors?


Engineering Website Design Tip 5 - Use Social Media:

Having a fantastic engineering website is great, but you also need to make sure that people visit it! A great way to do this is by setting up company social media accounts such as LinkedIn and Twitter. By consistently posting updates (think gallery photos on your website!) and engaging with your followers, you can boost your brand and ensure that your website receives a steady flow of traffic which hopefully translates into new business.


Engineering Website Design Tip 6 - Boost Your Google Ranking Using Keywords:

One question that many website owners find themselves asking is is my website Google-friendly?  Indeed, Google-friendliness is massively important to the success of your engineering website, which often leaves the less technologically-savvy amongst us feeling nervous. A great, simple way to ensure that your website gets visited via Google searches is to incorporate keywords into the website copy. Keywords tell Google that your website is ‘relevant’ to the search query at hand, meaning that you’re likely to appear higher in search results. Tools such as Keyword Researcher and Keyword Planner are free (or very cheap) to use and will give you a list of keywords that correspond with your business and services. 

For an example of how we used keywords in this article, please see below (keywords are highlighted):


Engineering Website Design Tip 7 - Research Your Competition:

Inspiration - not plagiarism!

When you’re in the process of building an engineering website, researching your competition is a worthwhile exercise. Take the time to look at the websites of other local engineering businesses to see what techniques and layouts they’re using. Remember - don’t plagiarise other websites (as this is illegal and could potentially get your website blacklisted by Google!); instead, simply take inspiration from them and think about how you could incorporate those features into your own engineering website.


Engineering Website Design Tip 8 - Have a ‘Meet the Team’ Page:

If you’re reading this article, then chances are that you’re probably part of a company that has 1-20 employees. This means that one of your biggest selling points when competing against larger companies is the fact that you can offer a more personal service. Incorporating a ‘Meet the Team’ page into your engineering website can help to emphasise this benefit to existing and potential customers, illustrating which role each employee holds within the business, whilst also giving a more ‘human’ and relatable dimension to your staff members.


If you’re rebranding your website, you must be looking for new business! Why not check out the subcontract engineering projects we’ve recently generated for our members?

Click here to view our subcontract engineering projects & request drawings!