Critical Components of Every Fran Dev Website
Whether your brand is a nationwide powerhouse with hundreds of locations or an emerging concept with fewer than ten, your franchise development website must give prospective franchisees the information they need—no exceptions.
Many Fran Dev sites do a good job of covering the basics, from “Why this brand?” to “What’s the average investment?” But future franchise owners are looking for more.
Did you know franchise buyers spend nearly three hours on a Fran Dev site—versus just 20 minutes for those who never become owners*? On average, a serious prospect will visit your site 16 times before signing on.
With so many visits and hours of engagement, your content needs to be robust and relevant at every stage of the buying journey:
Introductory stage: What is a franchise?
Mid-funnel stage: What does this brand offer?
Decision stage: Are current franchisees happy with their choice?
Delivering this information builds trust and connection—often before a prospect ever fills out a form.
It’s easy to assume your latest redesign is the “final version” of your site. In reality, your franchise development website should be continually evolving. No matter where your brand is in its growth trajectory, focusing on these critical components will keep prospects coming back for answers—and moving closer to becoming franchisees.
Franchise Education
The most critical component of a Fran Dev site is often overlooked: franchise education content. Most brands skip over explaining the basics, jumping straight to industry or brand-specific information.
There’s a common assumption that if someone lands on your site, they already understand what a franchise is and why franchising might be right for them. But do they?
Many visitors researching how to start or buy a business arrive without a clear picture of what it means to own a franchise. Some hold misconceptions about franchise ownership or believe it’s better to run a business independently and avoid working with a franchisor.
Including a dedicated Franchise Education section allows your brand to:
Dispel common myths about franchise ownership.
Explain the unique benefits and opportunities franchising offers.
Build excitement and confidence in the idea of joining a franchise.
Brands providing foundational education about the franchise industry help prospects better understand franchising—and why it could be the right path for them. In this content, be sure to avoid using acronyms, like AUV, that might confuse your audience. If they are new to franchising, use of “insider lingo” can turn prospects off and create doubts about their readiness or desire to explore franchise ownership.
Industry Vertical Education
No matter where this section appears—whether in your top navigation or within your brand education area—explaining why your industry vertical is a smart investment is essential.
For prospective franchisees, knowing they’re joining a growing industry, such as senior care, or one that’s recession-resistant, like home services, can instill the confidence needed to take the leap from a traditional 9-to-5 job to business ownership.
Explaining the strengths of your industry, its growth trajectory for the next 5 to 10 years, and the competitive edge your brand brings to the industry helps reinforce the idea that not only is your brand here to provide robust information, but that your brand is a great investment for this candidate.
Brand Education
You’ve explained why franchising is better than being in business by yourself. You’ve established your industry as a solid bet for future success. Now is the time to start selling all your brand has to offer! This is the fun stuff! There are so many great ways to showcase your brand and so many opportunities for robust content. Let’s look at some of the components of brand education that should be included on your site.
Your Brand Story: Who You Are
As you build trust with candidates who are visiting your website, telling your story is one of the best ways to deepen those relationships. Tell the story of how you were founded and your history. What is your brand mission, and what are the core values your leadership ascribes to?
This is where you showcase who you are, your leadership team, and your brand vision. Your goal is to help prospects connect with your brand on a deeper level. Don’t forget to share awards, news features, or any philanthropic activities your brand engages in.
Your Franchise Opportunity: Why Choose Your Brand
There is so much information that can fall under the franchise opportunity section of your website. Often, you’ll see this section broken into different areas within the navigation to help visitors easily move between topics. Start by establishing the story you want to tell and how you will lead candidates from one component to the next.
This part of your website should explain to candidates:
Your Products and/or Services. Help candidates understand exactly what they will be doing each day. What makes your products or services unique? What’s the value proposition for your brand? Why do consumers or your clients trust your brand and keep coming back?
Success Stories and Testimonials. Candidates want to know that they are making a good decision, that the people they will be in business with share their values, and that they will be set up for success. Sharing stories of your current franchise owners is a great way to establish confidence.
Don’t limit these testimonials to only established franchise owners. Ask new owners with less than 2 years of experience to explain how being a part of your brand has been a benefit to them. Video and written testimonials are both valuable.
Support and Training. One of the greatest benefits of buying a franchise is that you aren’t in business by yourself. Franchise owners get to take advantage of the support of people who have walked the road in front of them. They receive training on how to handle everything from POS systems to hiring to marketing their business. Explain in robust detail everything the candidate can expect when they invest with your brand.
Available Markets. Perhaps one of the most important things for candidates is where they can open their business. While some future franchise owners are willing to relocate to open their business, most prefer a territory close to home. Providing an easy-to-use interface that allows candidates to explore open territories and/or resale territories allows them to imagine themselves buying a location and being a business owner.
Financial Requirements, Investment, and Fees. This part of your website has the potential to throw cold water on a candidate’s excitement, but it is essential. Neither your sales team nor the candidate wants to get into one-on-one discussions only to discover that they aren’t financially ready to purchase.
With that said, you don’t want this section to discourage candidates from moving forward. Including figures on the initial franchising fee, ongoing royalties and fees, and net worth is important. Balance this information with financial performance data from your FDD and information about financing for fees or investments.
Process for Becoming an Owner. 80% or more of the visitors to your website will be purchasing a franchise for the first time. They’ve never done this before and have no idea what to expect. Walk them through the process step by step. From meeting with a member of your team to attending Discovery Day to the build-out of their location, give them enough information that they can envision themselves becoming a franchisee.
Resources & Calls to Action
You’ve built a Fran Dev site with robust information helping to educate candidates about everything from why franchise businesses are more likely to succeed to how your brand supports franchise owners. What else is there?
FAQs: Include a page with quick answers to common questions. You can group these into categories to help tell your story. Consider spreading specific FAQs throughout the site that relate to each page’s topic.
Contact Us: Include your corporate office’s contact information and a form for candidates to complete for more information.
Blog: Build a robust blog that dives deeper into the topics above. Include information about franchising and why to choose a franchise, your existing franchisees, and details about what to expect as a franchise owner with your brand. Frequent posting to the blog will give candidates a reason to come back to your site.
Legal & Compliance: Provide access to terms of service, privacy policies, and important compliance documents, reinforcing trust and transparency for all site visitors.
As for CTAs. They should be included throughout your site. From the home page to individual site pages, there should be multiple opportunities for interested candidates to reach out to your brand for more information. Effective CTAs include:
Get Started.
Schedule a Call.
Learn More.
I want more information.
These links should direct the candidate to a form that is short and easy to complete.
Now that your website is fully built out, it’s time to launch your marketing campaigns and start directing candidates back to your site. Keep an eye on the analytics. What pages are they visiting most? How long do they spend on each page? How often are visitors coming back? All of this can help you to refine your messaging over time, which leads to more interested candidates and more open locations!
Source: Franchise Performance Group
