Export company website: what it must include for a food exporter

Key takeaways

• The site has one job. It should pass the check a buyer runs before replying [1].
• Content matters more than design. Specs, real photos and a real address carry the weight.
• Say less, prove more. Replace "leading exporter" with facts a buyer can verify.
• A template is fine. Buyers don't score your layout.
• Own everything. Domain, hosting and logins should be in your company's name.

What is an export website for?

It exists to be checked. CBI calls your website the first source potential buyers will check to learn about your company, and says it should support your sales [1]. So think of the site less as a brochure and more as an answer sheet. A buyer arrives with questions, often after seeing your quotation, and leaves within minutes if the answers are missing.

Which pages do you need?

Six pages cover almost every exporter. The list below adapts the building blocks CBI recommends [1].

Add a downloadable sheet to each product page. CBI mentions catalogues and one-page product sheets as useful downloads [1]. A buyer can forward a PDF to their quality team, and that is often the next step. Our guide to the export spec sheet covers what goes on it, and our spec sheet library shows examples by product.

Add a sustainability section only if it is true. CBI lists it as a building block [1]. If you have real practices, such as supplier programmes or water treatment, describe them plainly.

What makes a buyer leave?

These are common failures:

• Claims without proof. "World-class quality" tells a buyer nothing.
• Stock photos. A buyer can tell that the spice heap isn't yours.
• Product names with no details. No grade, no packing and no MOQ means no reason to write.
• A free email address. It makes a real company look temporary.
• Certificate logos with no certificates. Show only what you hold, with validity dates in your documents.
• A site that breaks on a phone. Some buyers will open your link on a phone first.
• Old news. A last update from several years ago raises the question of whether you still trade.

Template or custom design?

Either works. When we searched "export company website design", many of the top results were template galleries and design portfolios. That can suggest design is the hard part. It isn't.

The hard part is the content: accurate specs, your own photos, and text that says what you do. A clean template filled with real information is better than a custom design filled with slogans. Ask three things of any builder:

• Will the site load quickly on a phone?
• Can we edit products ourselves, or will every change cost us?
• Will the domain, hosting and logins be in our company's name?

What can you leave out?

Most exporters can skip these at the start:

• a shopping cart, because bulk food trade runs on quotations;
• live currency converters and public price lists;
• a news page you won't update;
• language versions you can't support with replies;
• pop-ups and video backgrounds that slow the page down.

A 10-point checklist

Before you call the site finished, confirm that:

1. The home page says what you export, in the first screen.
2. Each product has its own page, with specs or a downloadable sheet.
3. Each page shows packing, MOQ and shipping port.
4. All photos are your own.
5. Only current certificates appear.
6. The address matches your Google listing exactly.
7. A named person appears on the contact page.
8. The form delivers to an inbox someone reads. Test it.
9. A WhatsApp button works on a phone.
10. Your email address uses your own domain.

What does it cost?

It depends on who builds it and what is included. Our guide to what an export website costs explains each cost and what to ask before you pay.

Our own price is public. The Buyer-Ready Pack is ₹45,000, paid once, delivered in 10 working days from your inputs. It includes an export page (a one-page site, or pages on your existing site), a verified Google Business Profile, spec sheets for up to 3 products and an enquiry reply kit.

Next step. Check your current site against what buyers look for. Our free Buyer Check is a 1-page report on your Google listing, website and spec gaps, with the 3 fixes that matter most, within 24 hours.