Essential Elements for Your Software’s Website

After months — and perhaps even years — of developing your software or app, you’re finally ready to launch it. But the work isn’t done. You still need a website. Because, regardless of how innovative or invaluable your app or software may be, it won’t be successful without an effective website to help market, promote and sell it. 

At Visible Logic, we’ve built several award-winning websites for successful software and app companies. We’ve worked with startups like ReMo, an EdTech software that won the top prize in Maine Center for Entrepreneurs’ accelerator pitch-off. We also support later-stage software companies like DAVO, which recently announced they were successfully acquired.

While we custom build each website to fit the unique needs or functionality of the app or software it promotes, we’ve noticed there are several common elements to these websites — regardless of whether it’s for a financial app or educational software. Here are essential elements for your website that we incorporate into nearly every app or software website we develop, and that you should consider when you undertake your own website builder. 

Clear call to action

From the homepage to sub-pages, users should be able to easily identify and understand what you want them to do. Maybe it’s to watch a demo, learn more, or download/purchase the software. 

Your site will likely have multiple calls to action (e.g. “Sign up” and “Learn more”). If this is the case, it’s important to identify the most important action for users. This can be done in several ways, including putting it in a prominent location (such as the primary navigation or near the top of the homepage). If you have other actions you may want a user to take (such as signing up for an email list or following you on social media), try to put them in a place where they won’t distract the user, but where they’ll still be easy to find, such as in the footer or as subpage in your navigation. 

How it works and why it matters

There are several different ways to show how your software works. You could use screenshots, an explainer video, or illustrate the functionality. Your software is unique, so you will need to choose the best method that best highlights its features and its differentiators from any possible competition. 

But make sure that you go beyond the features and focus on the end benefit to the user. Explain why or how you improve their current processes and the benefit to their business or life. If a potential customer is on the fence about your product or service, the improvements it will lead to in their work/life is a more determining factor than just the features alone. 

A well-designed pricing page

The most common question a potential customer is going to ask is “How much will this cost?” That’s why pricing pages are often one of the most visited pages of any software or app website. Make sure your pricing page is well laid out and easy to read. Take a look at your competitors or other brands you aspire to emulate and see how they’re doing it. 

Because your pricing page will likely be one of your site’s most visited, don’t waste the opportunity to demonstrate to customers the value your app or software provides. Fully outline all of your features, demonstrate how the premium subscription is better than the free version, play up all the functionality and benefits your app or software offers. The pricing page also provides an opportunity to add in some teams that will boost SEO value that may not fit on any other pages organically. 

Signs of Validation 

With so many different apps and software available, a potential customer is going to want to know why they should choose yours over the other options. Hopefully, by clearly communicating your features, highlighting the software’s benefits, and demonstrating how it’s different from competitors, your website will accomplish this. However, doing all that could take a while, with multiple pieces of content and touchpoints. 

A quick and effective way to build confidence in your product is to offer validation of its effectiveness. This can come in many forms — testimonials, 3rd party reviews from Google or app stores, case studies, or featuring prominent partners or clients. If potential customers see that others are using your software and benefiting from it, they’ll be more likely to try it themselves. 

Properly setting up Google Analytics

So far, the elements we’ve covered address critical information that you need to share with your audience. But it’s also important that your website can share information about your audience with you. To do this, you’ll need to make sure that Google Analytics is properly set up. Doing this will allow you to start collecting valuable data from your website, such as where visitors are coming from and how they’re interacting with your site. 

If you plan on promoting your software or app through Google Ads, it is a good idea to sync it with your newly created Google Analytics account. This will allow Google to share data between two applications and allow you to better understand how your advertising is impacting the users it attracts to your site and their movements. 

Looking for expert help in building a website for your app or software?

Building an effective, well-designed and technologically sound website is a massive undertaking and critical to the success of your software or app. It’s not a project that should be an afterthought or rushed. At Visible Logic, we excel at building award-winning digital experiences that put your software or app in a position to succeed. If you’re interested in hearing how we can help create a website for your app or software, don’t hesitate to contact us.