Freight Forwarder Website: Requirements Checklist and Acceptance Criteria
Summary
How to build a forwarder website that acquires clients: 5 core pages, TDK and FAQ requirements, 10-item technical checklist, GEO-ready standards, 3-step verification.
# Freight Forwarder Website: Requirements Checklist and Acceptance Criteria
Do not build a forwarder website as a company-profile template site. A website that acquires clients answers client questions: the homepage states in one sentence what you solve, service pages cover the keywords clients search, the FAQ page directly answers common questions, and every page has TDK, mobile adaptation and structured data. Build and accept against this checklist, and the website will not be wasted money.
Three common mistakes
Mistake 1: Building an electronic business card. Homepage full of company history and honors, and clients leave without knowing what you can do for them. A website is not a business card; it is a 24/7 salesperson.
Mistake 2: No FAQ. When a client searches "how long is Shenzhen to Bangkok by sea" and your website has no answer, the client asks someone else. FAQ is the most important acquisition content on a website, not an optional appendix.
Mistake 3: No SEO/GEO. Built once and never updated, no title optimization, no structured data. Search engines and AI cannot understand you, which means you built a shop nobody can find.
Requirements checklist: what a client-acquiring website needs
Information architecture (5 core pages):
- Homepage: one-sentence positioning + core services + strengths + cases + contact, 3 seconds to say who you are and what problem you solve
- Service pages: organized by service/route/category, each covering a group of client search keywords
- Case pages: anonymized cases, problem-approach-result-limitation, evidence not slogans
- FAQ page: client's real question phrasing as titles, 100-200 word direct answers with numbers and sources
- Contact page: phone/WeChat/email/address, plus WeCom reception
Content requirements:
- Unique title + description + keywords (TDK) for every page
- Articles use question-answer structure: conclusion in the first 100 words, data in the body, FAQ at the end
- Data carries sources and dates; cases carry baselines and limitation notes
- Articles have author bylines and update dates
Technical acceptance checklist: 10 must-checks
| # | Item | Standard |
|---|------|----------|
| 1 | `` | Unique, descriptive, ≤30 chars per page |</p> <p>| 2 | canonical | Self-referencing canonical on every indexable page |</p> <p>| 3 | Structured data | Organization (home) + Article (posts) + FAQ |</p> <p>| 4 | OG/Twitter tags | Normal sharing preview |</p> <p>| 5 | hreflang | Bidirectional zh/en + x-default |</p> <p>| 6 | favicon | Returns normally, multi-size declarations |</p> <p>| 7 | Mobile | Normal layout and clickable buttons on phones |</p> <p>| 8 | Speed | First screen within 3 seconds |</p> <p>| 9 | 404/301 | Old URLs redirect, no dead links |</p> <p>| 10 | sitemap | Only 200+indexable pages, with lastmod |</p> <h2>What a GEO-friendly website looks like</h2> <p>AI search engines (Doubao, DeepSeek, ChatGPT) cite website content in answers to clients. Pages that get cited: clear question opening, direct conclusion, data with sources, author and update time, verifiable cases. Recommend providing llms.txt (machine-readable site description) and keeping articles updated (rewrite old articles monthly, mark data cutoff dates).</p> <h2>Three steps to verify: how to confirm the website passes</h2> <p>First, run the checklist: check the 10 technical items one by one, in incognito mode and on mobile. Second, search yourself: on Baidu and WeChat, search your brand and core route keywords, see where the website ranks and whether the title is right. Third, ask AI: on Doubao or DeepSeek, ask "which forwarder is reliable on XX route", see whether the AI mentions you and describes you correctly. Pass all three, and the website is qualified.</p> <h2>FAQ</h2> <p><strong>Q: Does a forwarder website have to exist?</strong></p> <p>A: For content acquisition and paid ads, the website is the landing page and is necessary. Pure old-client referral can skip it, but acquisition gets harder.</p> <p><strong>Q: Chinese or bilingual?</strong></p> <p>A: Chinese for domestic clients; add English with hreflang if you target overseas clients or want bidirectional GEO coverage.</p> <p><strong>Q: How often should the website update?</strong></p> <p>A: At least 2-4 articles per month, and rewrite old articles quarterly (update data and timeliness) to keep the freshness signal.</p>