In 2020, there were a record number of 7,500 cannabis dispensaries in the United States. Since then, that number has only grown. That means if you plan to carve out a space in this rapidly growing industry, you’ll need to find a way to stand out from the rest.
A professional website is one of the best ways to attract new customers and build a powerful brand identity. We live in a digital world — having a website as part of your cannabis marketing isn’t optional.
When a prospective customer is searching for a dispensary in their area, what’s the first thing they’ll do? Search online. Without a great website — one that’s well designed, easy to navigate, and captures the essence of your brand — customers will turn to your competitors instead.
To ensure your cannabis website makes the best first impression, you’ll need to follow some website design best practices. Here are four things that great cannabis websites should do.
1. Keep the Design Simple
Quantity doesn’t mean quality, and that’s especially important when it comes to website design. If your website feels cluttered and busy, casual browsers are more likely to click away. In fact, most users will leave a web page in 10 to 20 seconds.
To make sure people stick around, you need to strip down your cannabis website design to the bare essentials. Don’t be afraid to use white space to make sure the reader’s eyes go to the information that matters most.
2. Focus on Improving the User Experience
Even a cannabis website condensed down to the most relevant information will fail if it doesn’t satisfy both UI and UX requirements.
UI, or user interface, is all about what people see on their screen — texts, colors, backgrounds, photographs, and other moving elements of graphic design. UX, or user experience, focuses on how someone moves through each element of that website design, making sure it flows as smoothly as possible.
Every element of your website should contribute to a seamless user experience. It should be easy — and even enjoyable — for someone to navigate from page to page.
3. Put a Mobile-Friendly Layout First
These days, more than half of all traffic is on mobile devices. If your website is only optimized for browsing on a desktop or laptop, you could be leaving half of your audience behind.
A great cannabis website should put mobile first. Instead of making your website for desktop viewing first and then trying to optimize for mobile, try orienting it towards mobile first. Doing this can ensure that your design choices are mobile-friendly and that your pages are responsive enough to load quickly on a smartphone.
4. Use SEO to Increase Online Presence
What’s the point of creating a clean, responsive website if nobody sees it? Investing in SEO is an important step to ensure that your website shows up on Google’s search rankings.
A good keyword strategy should include words that are the most relevant in the cannabis industry. Long-tail keywords like “where can I find cannabis near me?” should be a part of any effective strategy, along with short-tail keywords like “cannabis,” “cannabis near me,” or “dispensary near me.”
Another way to boost your SEO is by keeping your website updated with a stream of relevant content. Try posting articles with relevant keywords at least a few times a month.
Ready to Build Your Dispensary Website?
A lot goes into making the perfect dispensary marketing strategy — including a cannabis website. From SEO strategy to top-notch website design, it takes a dedicated effort to make a website that gets you noticed.
If you’re ready to take your dispensary branding to the next level, you could use the help of a top branding agency. Whether you’re just starting out with a dispensary website or you want to take your cannabis marketing to the next level, HIGHOPES can help with everything from packaging design to website development. Unlock the potential of your business and get started today.
