The secret to a good cannabis website design is simple: good design. The same design features that make any brand successful online will also make your cannabis brand successful.
Of course, when it comes to cannabis, there are always a few additional features you’ll need to consider as well.
What do you need to focus on when it comes to cannabis dispensary web design? Let’s start with six features covering security, user experience, and SEO. Start here, and work with a cannabis-friendly developer to build your brand online.
1. Adults Only
Click on any legitimate cannabis-related website in Canada, and you are first confronted with an age-gate. In today’s legal golden age, the onus is on brands to keep their products and services away from the eyes of children.
Front and center, when your website loads (and load quickly, we hope), we want to see that age verification pop-up.
2. Secure Your Domain
Google likes security, which means your website needs to prove its security features. For starters, that’s a battle between HTTP and HTTPS.
If your domain starts with HTTP and not HTTPS, immediately speak with your developer about purchasing an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate encrypts information to secure the connection.
3. Simple is Best
As much as you want to apply every eCommerce tip and trick in the handbook to your cannabis dispensary web design, simplicity goes a long way.
When your website has moving carousels, customer purchase pop-ups, customer service chats, flashing promotions, and other add-ons, it’s very distracting to the online shopper.
The more gimmicks you add to the homepage, the more your website can feel like a bargain basement with an inflatable tube man out front. Please keep it clean, classy, and straightforward.
4. Focus on User Experience (UX)
In the developer world, everyone talks about UX. It’s one of the most critical aspects of making your website work for your customers.
UX is a human-approach to design that considers the full experience, aiming for ease from the first click to the last. As soon as a customer lands on your page and starts exploring, you’ll want to deliver a smooth and functional design. The fewer pain points, the better.
5. Never Forget: Search-Engine-Optimization
Everyone talks about SEO, but for many, its intricacies remain a mystery. It pays (quite literally) to have an SEO expert in your back corner. These days a smart SEO strategy can make or break your success, and it goes well beyond just a keyword list.
You need it built right into the foundations of your cannabis website design. For best results, focus on a core SEO strategy built by an SEO expert in your niche.
6. Built-in Customer Service
Nothing is as frustrating to a customer as an inability to speak with a human. Just because your entire business model is an online one doesn’t mean you can’t connect with your customers.
Make it easy for your customers to get in touch with a real-live-human, whether it’s you or someone on your team. A Contact Us page is the bare minimum. You should have a live chat feature for more instantaneous responses.
Simple and Secure,The Best Cannabis Website Design
Any professional web developer should understand the basics of building a functional and efficient website. But the real question is, do they understand what’s needed for cannabis dispensary web design?
Whether you own a dispensary, a commercial grow, or other cannabis-related business, you want to find a like-minded web developer to build your website. When everyone has the same passion for the plant and an in-depth understanding of the industry, the results stand out.
