1.   An attractive, engaging home page

I’ve visited hundreds of government contractor websites.  Candidly, some of them are just ugly and off-putting – they look like someone saved a Word or PowerPoint file as HTML and uploaded it to a Web server. That’s not the way to attract customers, partners, or future employees into a relationship.

Your site’s home page should feature the following:

• A clear navigation menu at the top of the page that enables visitors to move to any important page on your site. Bonus points if the menu stays visible as the visitor scrolls down the page.
• An eye-catching “hero” image that links directly to your primary product or service offerings. Bonus points if it doesn’t look like a stock photo. NOTE: UX research for years have shown most people won’t linger to watch all your slides. They have poor click-through rates, don’t work well on small mobile device screens, and may impair your search engine rankings. Need any more reasons to just use an awesome hero image?
• Short descriptions of your key services or products, with inviting links to a page for more details.
• Some kind of fresh content to show them your site is not stale.  See below.
• Visible contact information so they can get in touch. See below.

2.   Contract vehicle information

Your main navigation menu should include a link that says “Contract Vehicles”. This is critical to both customers and partners. Government procurement relies increasingly IDIQs, GWACs, and BPAs. Agencies need to know whether you have a vehicle that gives them easy access to you. And both large and small companies that want access to an agency need to know whether you have a vehicle that allows you to be their prime contractor.

Pay attention to the terms of your contract vehicles. Some require you to include specific contract information or have a separate page on your site dedicated to that vehicle. And some contracts – especially in DHS – state they will visit your site to verify your contract page complies with Section 508 accessibility requirements.

3.   Fresh content

Some sites make me wonder whether the company is still in business. The copyright date in the footer is 3-4 years ago. They posted their last news release 2 years ago. There’s no blog or Twitter feed. There’s nothing to prove the company has touched their site recently, and so you wonder if they’re still in business. Current, fresh content answers this question and can help visitors understand your strategy, trajectory, and momentum. If you’ve won contracts, launched new services, expanded your offices, hired new leaders, or participated in industry events, let the industry know on your website. (You can also post on social media and display your feed on your website.) Job candidates are more likely to apply to companies whose websites are active and vibrant.

4.   Job opportunities

Speaking of job candidates, one of your website’s most important functions is to entice the right job candidates to apply for the right jobs on your site. At a minimum, post links to your current job openings. Your Talent Acquisition team should act like they’re in the sales business – and your job descriptions should work like product brochures to make your job openings look attractive and desirable. Make sure you optimize job postings with succinct introductions and the right keywords for search engine visibility. Better yet, build a “Careers” section on your site that describes your culture, benefits, career advancement, and professional development programs. If you actively manage your online reputation and have high ratings and good reviews on Glassdoor or Indeed, include links to those sites. Feature any awards you’ve won for being a great place to work.

By making your company highly appealing, you will have a larger pipeline of high-quality and cleared candidates. Your Talent Acquisition team will also have greater leverage in negotiating compensation and start dates.

5.   Multiple ways to reach you

Some people visit your website to get information WITHOUT talking to you. Your website should answer all their questions so you don’t have to waste your team’s time. Other people visit your site specifically because they want to get in touch with you – to discuss partnering opportunities or to find out whether your products and services match their specific needs. Your site should have clear contact information – preferably in both the header and footer. Put a “Contact Us” link in the top level of your navigation menu. Make it easy for people to call or email you, rather than forcing them to fill out a form. (If you do offer a contact form, make sure it works and sends the visitor a confirmation email that includes contact information, so they can follow up easily if they don’t hear from you.) And if you have a sales assistant or office administrator who is good with customers, consider adding a chat plug-in to your website so people can ask a question in real time and get a friendly, authoritative answer.

By enhancing your site with these basic ingredients, you will greatly increase your chances of establishing beneficial relationships with people who will contribute to your future success. We invite you to get in touch with us at GovConSites.com to find out more about how we can improve or overhaul your current website to include these important features for engagement.