The cannabis industry is wild. We’ll be blunt. In some of the early legalized states, the industry boomed and tons of business popped up, rolled up, and smoked up in hopes of capitalizing on the green rush. While some states with recent legalization are currently in this boom, the frontrunners, like California and Washington, are starting to see an unfortunate trend—companies going under and states restricting the amount of licenses.
The truth is, the cannabis space is competitive and you’re not only competing with the legal landscape, but also that of digital marketing. Your best option is to have a strong online presence and web design. Your website is a portal for customers to not only find you, but also to trust you. Before they smoke your stuff, eat it, or whatever the verb for a tincture is, they need to know your legit, and your website is that first impression.
Due to a varying array of state and federal regulations, traditional marketing tactics may be off limits, like paid search and paid social media. In the same vein, there are things you should and should not do. For example, you should have an age qualifier pop up on your homepage, and should not make any health claims. It’s confusing and might make you feel lost.
If marketing your own cannabis company makes you want to use your own product to de-stress, meet with us. We know cannabis, we know marketing, and we know web design (in fact, our founders met working at cannabis magazine!).
Now, let’s get into the eight essentials of cannabis web design and what a web design agency should know when helping you.
1. Understand the Legal Landscape of Cannabis
The legal landscape of cannabis can be convoluted and understanding it should be priority number one. We already mentioned the age verification pop-ups to prevent minor access and your restrictions about advertising using paid search and paid social, but also keep in mind that, while quite popular, this industry is still searching for genuine legitimacy. Having clear disclaimers about product information and regulations not only keeps you compliant but also gives some cred to the cannabis space.
2. Prioritize User Experience (UX)
This one goes for all websites, but for a cannabis company in particular, a smooth user experience builds trust and keeps customer retention. What’s it look like? Clear and intuitive navigation that makes browsing products and reading educational content super f*cking easy. Think fast loading times, mobile responsiveness, and easy-to-understand product information.
3. Emphasize Brand Identity and Visual Identity
We aren’t the first to say this and we certainly aren’t the last—every cannabis company uses cannabis leaves for their cannabis brand logo and identity. Notice how we said “cannabis” so many times and it was probably annoying to read? That’s how people feel when they see another logo with a pot plant. We get it, it’s the industry, but don’t you want to be different?
A strong brand identity is who you are as a brand, and who you are as a brand is what people latch onto and remember. Consider colors, fonts, and imagery that resonates with your target audience, embodies your brand values, and is different from everyone else.
4. High-Quality Content
Something we’ve prioritized with our cannabis clients is what type of content we put on the site. We aren’t just talking about blogs. We’re talking web pages and the information that your users want to and need to know. Take this strain page from our client Ember Valley (more on them later). We made sure to put the species, effects, aroma, taste, cross strains, breeder, and the terpene profile, on top of a fun, descriptive paragraph about the strain.
That’s just one example, but high-quality, valuable content builds user trust and positions you as an authority in the cannabis space.
5. Integrate Social Media and Reviews
Even though you can’t advertise on social media, it doesn’t mean you can’t grow a following. You want a clear integration of your social media accounts in the navigation of your website to drive more awareness and trust to your brand.
But the real proof of your legitimacy is in the social proof pot pudding. Add a space for customer reviews, both positive and negative. Positive reviews build trust and encourage new customers to try your products while negative ones show your human…and that’s okay.
6. Optimize for Search Engines
We talk about SEO in every blog we write. It isn’t for lack of content material, but rather the fact that SEO is the lifeblood of your business—if customers can’t find you, how the hell are you going to sell anything?
Focus on incorporating relevant keywords throughout your website content, from product descriptions to blog posts. Target both general and long-tail keywords to capture a wider audience while still attracting those with specific interests.
7. Stay up to Date With Web Development Trends
The digital world is constantly changing. But you knew that. Just look at AI and how fast that came around. Your website is never set in stone and as new apps, interactive plug-ins, and software updates arise, you want to jump on early. An up-to-date website signals to your customers that you’re relevant and know what the f*ck’s going on.
Yes, Of Course We Have Cannabis Clients!
Did you think we’d write a whole blog about web design for cannabis companies without having done it before? We’ve already overhauled two cannabis companies’ websites (and are currently working with a third company in the cannabis space, but more on that in a future blog).
Our first cannabis client was Ember Valley, a cannabis producer targeting a more gender inclusive audience. They wanted a website that broke away from masculine colors and wanted to integrate a softer pallet to include a female audience.
So, we created a website with a more professional and refined look, using a broader color palette to appeal to a wider audience. We also developed individual pages for each strain, highlighting history, effects, and flavor profile so users knew what they were getting. And of course, we seamlessly integrated with online ordering platforms like Weedmaps and I Love Jane, allowing users to purchase Ember Valley products from those third party sites.
This web design revamp, along with SEO-optimized content, gave Ember Valley a 360 percent bump in web traffic, a 211 percent increase in product orders, and a 993 percent web conversion rate.
Check out their website here and our Ember Valley case study here. And to see our range, check out the site for one of our other clients, Flower Power, here. (We’ve also worked with a CBD company which you can read all about here!)
You need a website for your cannabis company. We know how to do that. Schedule a call with us and let’s get to it.
