This guide covers the pages and details a logistics, freight forwarding or trucking company website needs to turn a shipper's visit into a quote request. You'll get a homepage layout, a quote form field list with what to make required and what to leave optional, the proof a buyer checks before emailing you, and the things that usually waste budget.
A logistics website wins quote requests when a shipper can confirm three things in under a minute: you move their kind of freight on their lanes, you're properly licensed and insured, and asking for a price is easy. Put a quote button, your modes, your coverage and your USDOT/MC or operator licence number above the fold, keep the quote form short, and give each service and lane its own page.
What does a shipper check before asking for a quote?
A logistics manager who needs a new carrier or forwarder rarely calls the first company they find. They open five or six tabs, skim each site, and shortlist two or three. Your website is judged in that skim, usually before anyone at your company knows the shipper exists.
Gartner's research on B2B buying found that 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience. The same research found buyers were 1.8 times more likely to complete a high-quality deal when they used supplier-provided digital tools together with a sales rep. For a freight company, that means the site has to answer the early questions on its own, and then make it easy to reach a human for the rest.
The early questions are predictable:
- Do you handle my mode (FTL, LTL, reefer, flatbed, air, ocean, customs brokerage)?
- Do you run my lanes, or cover my region?
- Are you a carrier, a broker or a forwarder, and are you licensed as that?
- Have you moved freight like mine before (temperature-controlled, hazmat, oversized, high value)?
- How do I get a price, and how fast will I hear back?
- Can I track a shipment once it's moving?
If a shipper has to hunt for any of these, they close the tab. Nobody emails to ask whether you do reefer. They just pick the site that says so.
Google's own guidance on creating helpful content says that of the qualities it looks for, "trust is most important", and it lists "clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site" as ways to show it. A freight site that shows real licence numbers, real lanes and a real address is doing exactly that.
What should go on a logistics company homepage?
The homepage has one job: route each visitor to the right next step within a few seconds. Shippers want a quote. Existing customers want tracking. Drivers want jobs. Carriers want to get paid. If all four land on the same hero with the same "Learn more" button, three of them are annoyed.
- 1The headline names the freight and the lanes
- 2One main action: Get a quote, plus a phone number people can tap
- 3Only the modes you actually run
- 4Coverage in one line
- 5Numbers a buyer can check, linked to the public lookup
- 6Tracking for customers who already use you
- 7Careers and Carriers in the header, not the hero
Example layout. The zeros stand in for your own USDOT and MC numbers; FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot lets anyone look them up. A UK operator shows its operator licence number instead.
Above the fold
This is the part visible without scrolling, on a phone as well as a laptop. On a freight site it should hold:
- A plain headline that names what you move and where. "Temperature-controlled FTL between Texas and the Midwest" beats "Moving the world forward".
- A "Get a quote" button in a contrasting colour, and a phone number that's tappable on mobile.
- Icons or short labels for each mode you actually run.
- A one-line coverage statement (states, regions, countries, or "UK and EU groupage").
- Your credentials in small text: USDOT and MC numbers in the US, operator licence number in the UK, and trade memberships.
- A "Track a shipment" link in the header, for customers who already use you.
Further down
Below the fold, add a short block per service linking to its own page, an industries-served strip, a coverage map or lane list, and a short "how quoting works" section that says what happens after someone hits submit and how soon they'll get a price. If you can honestly say "Quotes within two business hours", say it. If you can't, don't.
Keep "Careers" and "Carrier setup" in the header or footer, not in the hero. Those audiences will look for them.
How should a freight quote form work?
The quote form is the most valuable thing on the site, and the most commonly broken. Quote forms tend to fail in one of two ways. One is a form so short ("Name, email, message") that sales has to email back three times before they can price anything. The other is a 25-field monster that demands NMFC class and exact pallet dimensions from someone who just wants a ballpark.
The middle ground is a form that asks for what you need to price the load, marks everything else optional, and lets people attach a file.
Ask for what you need to price the load, and nothing you could ask for after they say yes.
Google's form guidance on web.dev puts it bluntly: don't ask for data you don't need. It also recommends a single field for the person's name, using the right input types (type="tel" and type="email" bring up the right keyboard on phones), turning on browser autofill, showing errors next to the field as people type, and never using placeholder text in place of a label. Labels matter for accessibility too: WCAG success criterion 3.3.2 requires that "Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input", and it's a Level A requirement, the most basic level.
The fields to use
| Field | Required? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name, company, email, phone | Required (phone can be optional) | You can't reply without them. Company tells you who you're dealing with. |
| Mode (dropdown: FTL, LTL, reefer, flatbed, air, ocean FCL, ocean LCL, not sure) | Required | Routes the request to the right desk. "Not sure" stops people abandoning. |
| Origin and destination (city and postcode or ZIP, or port) | Required | No lane, no price. |
| Commodity (free text) | Required | Tells you if it's hazmat, food, high value or oversized. |
| Approximate weight and number of pallets or pieces | Required | Enough for a first price. Exact dims can come later. |
| Ready date | Required | Urgency changes the price. |
| Dimensions | Optional | Useful for LTL and air, but many shippers don't have them at hand. |
| Incoterms | Optional (international only) | Tells a forwarder who pays for which legs. |
| Frequency (one-off, weekly, monthly volume) | Optional | A recurring lane is worth a faster reply. |
| Special requirements (temperature, liftgate, hazmat, customs clearance) | Optional checkboxes | Faster than free text and easier to price. |
| File upload (packing list, rate sheet, lane list) | Optional | Larger shippers often send a spreadsheet of lanes for a bid. |
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
That's six required groups and five optional ones. Show the optional ones only when relevant: Incoterms appear when origin and destination are in different countries, temperature appears when "reefer" is picked. Conditional fields keep the form short for the simple cases without losing detail on the complex ones.
Incoterms are the eleven three-letter trade terms published by the ICC (the current set is Incoterms 2020), such as FOB or DAP, that say who pays for and carries the risk on each leg. A forwarder needs them. A domestic trucking company doesn't, so leave the field off entirely if you only run domestic freight.
phone can be optional
FTL, LTL, reefer, flatbed, air, ocean FCL, ocean LCL, not sure
city and ZIP or postcode, or port
free text
useful for LTL and air
international shipments only
one-off, weekly, monthly volume
temperature, liftgate, hazmat, customs clearance
packing list, rate sheet, lane list
Six required groups is enough for a first price. Send a test request from a phone once a month to check the form still reaches the right inbox.
Setting the form up so leads don't vanish
- Decide who gets each type of request. Reefer to one inbox, ocean to another, or everything into one shared inbox or CRM with the mode in the subject line.
- Write the confirmation message the shipper sees after submitting. Say who will reply, by when, and give a direct phone number for urgent loads.
- Send the shipper a copy of what they submitted by email, so they have a record and can reply to it.
- Set up a transactional email service (SMTP) so notifications don't land in spam. The default mail function on many hosts can be unreliable.
- Test the form from a phone on mobile data, with a real postcode and a file attached.
- Repeat that test monthly. Plugins update, API keys expire, and a broken form sends no error to anyone.
A quote form that quietly stops sending email is the most expensive bug a freight site can have, because nobody notices until a shipper calls to ask why they never heard back. Monthly form tests and plugin updates are the main reason a website care plan is worth paying for on a lead-generation site.
Which service, lane and industry pages do you need?
One "Services" page listing everything you do is the most common structure on freight sites, and it's weak for both shippers and search. Someone searching "reefer carrier Chicago to Atlanta" or "LCL shipping UK to Dubai" wants a page about that, not a list with one line on it.
One page per mode
Give each mode you actually sell its own page: FTL, LTL, reefer, flatbed, drayage, air freight, ocean FCL, ocean LCL, customs brokerage, warehousing. Each page should say what equipment you run (53-foot dry vans, 40-foot high cubes), what you don't do, typical transit times if you can stand behind them, and have its own quote button with the mode pre-selected in the form.
Lane and coverage pages
A coverage page with a simple map and a text list of regions or lanes helps shippers qualify you fast. The text list matters more than the map, because search engines and screen readers can read it. If you have a handful of strong lanes (say, Felixstowe to the Midlands, or Laredo to Chicago), a short page per lane with the equipment, typical transit and any border or customs notes can pick up specific searches that the large players don't bother with.
Don't create 200 thin city pages with the same paragraph and a swapped place name. Google's helpful content guidance asks whether pages are made for people first or for search rankings, and those pages fail that test at a glance.
Industries served
Food and beverage, building materials, automotive parts, retail, pharmaceuticals: each has different requirements. A page per industry can explain the specifics (temperature logs, delivery appointment windows, liftgates for jobsites) and link to the relevant mode pages. Only build pages for industries you actually serve. Construction firms face a similar set of buyer checks, covered in what a construction company website needs.
Which licences and credentials should you show, and how?
Freight buyers check credentials because in the US and UK the checks are free, public and take a minute. If your number isn't on the site, a careful shipper assumes you're hiding something or goes looking and finds a competitor with the number displayed.
In the US
FMCSA's SAFER Company Snapshot lets anyone search by USDOT number, MC/MX number or company name, and returns identification, size, commodity information and safety record. Your trucks already show the USDOT number: under 49 CFR 390.21 it must appear on both sides of the vehicle, preceded by "USDOT", legible from 50 feet. Your website should show it too, in the footer of every page and on an About or Credentials page, with a link to the SAFER lookup.
Show your MC number as well if you have operating authority. FMCSA says for-hire carriers and companies arranging transport of regulated commodities in interstate commerce need it. As of September 2026, FMCSA says it is considering phasing out MC numbers in favour of suffixes on the USDOT number, with no date given. Keep your site copy easy to update when that happens.
If you're a broker, say so clearly. Federal rules state that a broker shall not represent its operations to be that of a carrier, and any advertising shall show the broker status. A website is advertising. "We're a licensed freight broker, MC 123456" is honest and reassuring. Photos of "our fleet" when you don't own trucks is neither.
In the UK
A goods vehicle operator licence is needed for vehicles over 3,500 kg gross plated weight or more than 1,525 kg unladen. There are three types: restricted (your own goods only), standard national (other people's goods in the UK), and standard international. A haulier carrying for customers needs one of the standard licences, so name which one you hold and give the licence number. Anyone can check it on the government's find lorry or bus operators service by name, address or licence number.
Forwarder memberships
For forwarders, trade memberships carry weight, but only if you explain them. BIFA's Standard Trading Conditions are for the exclusive use of current BIFA members, and the 2025 edition took effect on 1 January 2026. If you trade on them, say "We trade under BIFA Standard Trading Conditions (2025 edition)" and link to them. FIATA individual membership is open to forwarding and logistics companies, and in countries with a national association member, that association has to agree to the application. Name the membership, give the member number if there is one, and link to the directory where a shipper can confirm it.
Insurance belongs here too. You don't need to publish policy documents, but say what cover you carry (cargo, liability) and that a certificate is available on request. Shippers' compliance teams will ask anyway.
What about tracking, carriers and drivers?
A freight site serves at least three audiences besides new shippers, and each needs its own door.
Tracking
If your TMS (transport management system) or a visibility platform gives customers a tracking portal, link it from the header on every page with a clear "Track a shipment" label. Don't rebuild tracking inside the website unless you have a developer and a reason. A link to the tool that already works is cheaper and breaks less.
Driver recruitment
Drivers are a separate audience with separate questions. Give careers its own page, or its own section, with pay structure, home time, equipment, route types and a short application form. Keep it separate from the shipper quote form so sales doesn't wade through job applications and drivers don't fill in "commodity".
If you recruit heavily, a separate application flow through a recruiting platform is often better than a website form. The site's job is to explain the role and link to it.
Carrier setup
Brokers and forwarders need a "Carriers" page that explains how to get set up, what documents you require and how payment terms work. It cuts down on phone calls and makes you look organised to the carriers you want.
How fast and technical does the site need to be?
Dispatchers and logistics coordinators often look you up on a phone between calls. The site has to load fast on mobile data and the quote button has to work with a thumb.
Google's Core Web Vitals give you concrete targets. According to web.dev, a good page shows its main content (Largest Contentful Paint) within 2.5 seconds, responds to taps (Interaction to Next Paint) in 200 milliseconds or less, and keeps layout shift (Cumulative Layout Shift) at 0.1 or less, measured at the 75th percentile of visits. The biggest threat to those numbers on freight sites is the hero: an autoplaying drone video of a port or a 4 MB photo of a truck at sunset.
Structured data
Structured data is code that tells search engines facts about your business in a format they can read directly. Google recommends Organization markup on the homepage or About page, with properties like legalName, address, telephone, logo and sameAs (links to your LinkedIn and other profiles), and says it helps Google "disambiguate your organization in search results". That's useful in an industry full of similar names. If you have a depot or office that customers visit, LocalBusiness markup needs only a name and address, with opening hours and phone recommended.
If your site isn't appearing at all when you search your own company name, fix that first. Why your website is not showing up on Google walks through the usual causes.
Common mistakes on freight and logistics websites
- A video hero that takes seconds to load on mobile and says nothing a headline couldn't. Usually a waste of money.
- Stock photos of generic trucks, ships and planes. Shippers can tell. Twenty honest photos of your own yard, trailers and warehouse are worth more than any stock library.
- No USDOT, MC or operator licence number anywhere on the site.
- A broker site that implies it owns a fleet.
- One quote form for every mode, with Incoterms and container type forced on a domestic LTL shipper.
- Every field required, including dimensions to the centimetre.
- A "Contact us" page with only a form, no phone number and no address.
- Claims like "fastest transit times" or "99% on-time" with nothing behind them.
- Driver applications and shipper quotes arriving in the same inbox, unlabelled.
- A form nobody has tested since launch.
A trade-off worth mentioning: instant online rate calculators look impressive, and for parcel or simple LTL they can work. For FTL, reefer, project cargo and most international freight, rates move too much for an automated price to be right, and a wrong instant price does more damage than a two-hour wait. For most small and mid-size freight companies, a good form and a fast human reply wins.
Budget is the other trade-off. A site with separate mode, lane and industry pages, a conditional quote form and structured data costs more than a five-page brochure site. Our guide on how much a small business website should cost breaks down where that money goes, so you can decide which pages to build first.
Where to start
If you're planning a new site or fixing the one you have, start with the quote form and the credentials footer, then add service pages one mode at a time. BerdisDev builds business websites with quote forms, service pages and structured data set up, and looks after them afterwards. If you'd like a price for your freight site, send us the details.
Frequently asked questions
What should a trucking company website include?
At minimum: a clear headline naming what you haul and where, a quote form, a tappable phone number, a page per service (dry van, reefer, flatbed), a coverage page, a careers page for drivers, and your USDOT and MC numbers in the footer with a link to FMCSA's SAFER lookup so shippers can check your record.
What fields should a freight quote form have?
Required: name, company, email, mode, origin, destination, commodity, approximate weight and piece count, and ready date. Optional: dimensions, Incoterms for international moves, frequency, special requirements like temperature or liftgate, and a file upload for lane lists. Show optional fields only when they apply, so a simple domestic request stays short.
Should a logistics company display its USDOT number on its website?
Yes. It's already on your trucks by law, it's public on FMCSA's SAFER system, and shippers use it to check carriers before booking. Put it in the site footer and on your About or Credentials page, with your MC number if you have operating authority. Brokers should also state clearly that they are brokers.
Do freight forwarders need a different website from trucking companies?
The structure is similar, but the details differ. Forwarders need pages for air, ocean FCL and LCL, and customs, a quote form with Incoterms and port fields, and memberships like BIFA or FIATA explained. Trucking companies need equipment details, lane coverage, operator or FMCSA credentials, and a strong driver recruitment page.
Is an online freight rate calculator worth building?
Usually not for small and mid-size companies. It can work for parcel or standard LTL where rates are stable. For FTL, reefer, project cargo and most international freight, rates change too often for an automated price to be reliable. A short quote form with a fast, promised response time tends to work better and costs far less to maintain.
Sources (18)
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- Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
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- FMCSA: If FMCSA stops issuing MC Numbers, will existing MC Numbers be replaced by USDOT Numbers?
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