What Makes a Good Franchise Development Website?

A strong franchise development website is an indispensable part of the lead generation process. For many potential franchisees, a brand’s website is their first impression of the franchise opportunity. Every aspect of your franchise development website— from effective graphics, video and copy to the placement of your inquiry form to informative financial details— should pay off in generating qualified leads inquiring about becoming a franchisee.

We regularly partner with franchisors to build compelling, lead-generating websites— optimizing everything from copy and creative to strategy and layout. Beyond the creative elements, there are a few must-haves for every franchise development website that will make your purpose of lead generation much clearer to prospective franchisees. When you meet the four points on this checklist, you can create a website that is both effective and high-performing.

1. An Easily Accessible Interest Form

Your franchisee interest form is the part of your website that will allow you to validate inquiries with their financial, geography and background information. Plus, it will provide you with the contact details you need to initiate a discussion with qualified leads. For this reason, making your form easily accessible and prominent on your site is important. We help our clients design streamlined, highly visible interest forms that make it easy for qualified leads to connect, increasing overall conversions.

If you don’t want your interest form to be the first thing visitors see when they visit your website, be sure to at least include it on the home page, where leads will catch it before clicking away. Adding in a button that calls visitors to action, too, can be an effective way to plug your interest form without making it an eyesore.

2. Financial Investment Details

Many potential franchisees who visit your website are more curious about the financial investment than any other information. Some franchisors choose to copy their entire Item 7 from their Franchise Disclosure Document onto their franchise development website to provide as much transparency as possible.

When you include major investment details about your franchise on your website— including the marketing fees, royalties, and the initial investment cost— you are more likely to attract leads who are financially equipped to become franchisees. It can also be helpful to include revenue details to share insight on what sales can look like. Furthermore, you will attract more qualified leads if you include areas open for development on your website in the form of a territory map that illustrates the future of your franchise growth.

3. Support and Process Information

One of the biggest advantages of franchising for entrepreneurs is the ability to follow a proven business model. That’s why, no matter who you’re targeting, your franchise development website should showcase the support and resources available to franchisees. Ideally, this will be built out on your website with franchisee testimonials in the form of quotes or testimonial videos— this is the most effective way to show that your franchisees see the benefits of your support system to prospective leads.

Eager new business owners will be looking for information about how franchisors guide them with initial and ongoing support, including for marketing and operations. By contrast, experienced multi-unit owners will be curious about your franchise’s time to market. Including these details on your franchise development website will bring in leads who are well-informed about your brand’s support plan and better prepared to move forward.

4. Key Selling Points

While the goal of your franchise development website is to encourage prospective franchisees to take action and fill out the informational form, don’t shy away from sharing the key differentiators that set your brand apart from competitors. This is why working with a marketing team like All Points PR on your website can be helpful: we can help identify and position your strongest differentiators in a way that strikes a chord with visitors. Remember, your website should inform and attract qualified leads, meaning the franchisees who find you from your franchise development website should know your brand’s core values and want to bring those values to life.

At All Points, when we collaborate with web developers and franchisors to create sites that fuel franchise growth. We know that every element on your site should be designed to attract qualified leads, drive inquiries, and fill your pipeline with serious prospects. With a strategic, well-optimized website, you can turn interest into action and maximize your franchise growth potential.