A website for your cybersecurity product: 7 do’s and don’ts

Your website is your 24/7 sales channel. It’s the first impression of your cybersecurity solution. It shows what your product can mean for your potential customer and indicates for whom the solution is suitable—at least, it should. Unfortunately, we see many websites for cybersecurity solutions that completely miss the mark. That’s a shame, because if the potential buyer can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll disengage, and you’ll miss your sales opportunity.

That’s why it’s so important to have a well-structured website. In this article, I’ll share the do’s and don’ts for creating a website for a cybersecurity solution.

Don’t: Think and write from your own perspective

The texts on websites are often reasoned from the viewpoint of the people working at the cybersecurity company. For example, the technical team is very proud of the modern technologies used and wants to highlight this on the website. The management believes that the vision and mission should take center stage, while the support department wants to emphasize fast service.

And what does the potential customer want to know? Usually none of this! Initially, a buyer wants to discover what the product does and, above all, which problem it solves. That’s what your website should be about. So, don’t write your website content from your own perspective; instead, keep your customer’s challenges, needs, and questions in mind.

Do: Conduct customer interviews

There’s only one way to find out what customers want to know about your solution and how they experience it once they become customers: ask them! In my opinion, interviewing customers is step 1 when building a new website. During such a customer interview, you let the customers speak 90% of the time, ask probing questions, and pose different questions than you would in a sales conversation. Consider questions like:

What was your first impression of our solution? What other solutions did you consider? Why do you work with us and not with a competitor? What problem does our solution solve for you? How would your daily work be different if you didn’t use our cybersecurity product?

The answers from customers to these questions are invaluable and form the foundation for the content on your website.

Don’t: Try to appeal to everyone

One size fits all fits nobody. If you try to appeal to everyone on your website, you’ll have to keep things very general. The result? You won’t truly engage anyone. An IT buyer from a large organization has different needs and criteria than a director of a small or medium-sized enterprise without technical staff. They also differ in their knowledge of the subject and their challenges. You can never trigger both with the same text. You’ll need to choose who your ideal customer is and base your website content on that. Only then can you grab attention and spark interest through your website.

Do: Take a look at your competitors’ websites

Is the website for your cybersecurity solution primarily black? And is there a hacker in a black hoodie featured somewhere? Busted! Your website’s design looks too much like that of your competitors. It’s good to resemble the “standard website” in the industry to create a sense of familiarity for the visitor. On the other hand, you also want to showcase how you differ from your competitors. Why should the visitor choose to become your customer instead of one of your competitors? That should be clearly communicated on your website.

Focus on your own strengths. There are already plenty of cybersecurity websites that instill fear by endlessly discussing risks and dangers. If personal customer contact and alleviating customer concerns are among your USPs, then a black site that focuses on risks isn’t appropriate. Instead, you’ll want to showcase photos of the people the customer will be in contact with.

So, take a good look at your competitors’ websites. Some overlap is fine for necessary recognition, but above all, highlight what sets you apart. Make sure the impression you create with your site aligns with your organization and solution. There are already enough cookie-cutter websites out there!

Don’t: Scatter vague terms and clichés

I often visit cybersecurity websites where, after looking at the header and homepage, I have no idea what they do. For instance, I recently saw “Secure your mission” in large letters at the top of a site. This could refer to many different products. Is it a compliance tool that helps you check if you’ve completed all your security checks? Is it an MDR tool that keeps an eye on things? Are they ethical hackers testing your systems? No idea.

It may seem boring, but I advocate for clearly explaining what your product does. Start with this in your header. No visions, no futuristic promises, no vague terms. Just state what you do, how it helps your customers, and for whom the solution is intended. That’s it! After that comes the supporting information.

Scattering vague terms and clichés also happens randomly throughout the rest of the website. “Secure” is probably the most common term in cybersecurity, but it doesn’t say as much as it seems. What are you securing? How are you securing it? Other buzzwords I see frequently include unparalleled, machine learning, and innovative. How often have you purchased something because the company claimed to be innovative? Exactly. This doesn’t help your potential customers either. The more concrete you are, the better your website will perform.

Do: Showcase your product

In the interest of being concrete: there’s nothing clearer than showing your product. This way, a potential customer immediately gets an idea of what it looks like, what the product does, how easy it is to use, and so on. There’s little more persuasive than that!

Don’t be afraid to put your product in the spotlight. Yes, your competitors will see it too, but consider how much time you’ve invested in its development. They can’t just replicate that easily. Moreover, they might be targeting a different audience or using different methods to build their solution. Besides, if competitors really want to, they’ll find a way to see your product anyway.

Do: Go live and keep developing

Sometimes, building a website can be quite cumbersome. Every department wants to have their say, and intense discussions can arise over small details, even before the site is live. That’s a waste of time! You don’t need to have a perfect website right away because you can always continue to develop it. Your website isn’t set in stone—that’s the beauty of it.

So, stop debating over the font, visuals, and other matters that don’t really make a difference, and just go live. The great thing about having a website online is that you can learn a lot from it. You can analyze user behavior to discover what people are looking for, and you can briefly address your website in sales and customer conversations. Ask your customers and prospects for help by inquiring about their first impressions, whether they could easily find answers to their questions, and how they felt about your site. People love to help and will give you honest feedback. That’s the most valuable feedback you can get, as it will help you continuously improve your site.

A strong cybersecurity website

Focus on the needs, questions, and challenges of your (potential) customers, showcase your unique value proposition, address a clear target audience, avoid vague terms and clichés, display the product, and continuously develop it. This way, you ensure that your 24/7 salesperson functions effectively!

Looking for more ideas for marketing your cybersecurity solution? Follow Beyond Products. Prefer to jump right in and leverage our expertise for the development of your website? Contact us, and we’ll get started together.