What a trucking company website actually needs. (And what kills it.)
We audited 87 carrier websites in 2025. Here is what separates the 11 that work from the 76 that are costing their owners customers and drivers.
Most trucking company websites were built by someone's nephew in 2019. Or by a generic agency that has never heard of DOT authority, FMCSA registration, or the fact that your website needs to serve two completely different audiences simultaneously — shippers looking to book freight and drivers looking for a job — with completely different goals, different content needs, and different conversion moments.
The two audiences and the one mistake every carrier makes
Your website has two audiences. Shippers want to know: are you reliable, are you compliant, can you handle my freight, how do I get a quote. Drivers want to know: what lanes do you run, what does home time look like, how do I apply, what do drivers say about working here.
The mistake: designing one page that tries to serve both, and ends up serving neither.
The fix: a clear, fast fork at the homepage — one path for shippers, one path for drivers. Not a paragraph of text. A clear CTA that routes each visitor to the right experience.
The five things your website must have
Mobile-first driver application
67% of driver applications are started on a phone. If your application requires uploading a resume, navigating more than three screens, or takes longer than four minutes to complete, you are losing most of the drivers who start it. The application is not a filter — it is a first impression.
Authority numbers in the header
Your DOT number and MC authority should be visible without scrolling. Shippers check this before they call. If they have to hunt for it, some of them will not call. Put it in the footer at minimum, and ideally visible above the fold.
Real load information, even if general
"We run dry van freight in the Midwest" is more compelling than "we serve all 48 states." Specificity signals operational competence. A carrier that knows its lanes inspires more confidence than one that claims to run everywhere.
Page speed under 2 seconds
Google uses mobile page speed as a ranking signal. A carrier website that loads slowly on mobile is invisible in local search. Most of the sites we audited were loading in 5–9 seconds on mobile. That is not a design problem — it is a business problem.
A real phone number and a real email on every page
Not a contact form. A phone number. Dispatchers and shippers pick up the phone. If your contact page is a form with a 48-hour response promise, you are losing the enquiries that would have become accounts.
The three things that kill carrier websites
- Use real photos of your actual fleet — phone photos beat stock every time.
- Surface FMCSA registration, DOT compliance, and safety record as trust signals.
- Show named testimonials with real shippers and real freight detail.
- Split shipper and driver journeys with one clear CTA each.
- Make the DOT/MC visible above the fold.
- Use stock photos of trucks you don't own.
- Bury compliance language in a footer or skip it entirely.
- Publish generic "great service!" quotes from "J. Smith, Ohio."
- Force one page to convert both shippers and drivers.
- Hide your phone number behind a contact form.
What we build at Trucky
Every carrier website we ship is mobile-first, loads under 2 seconds, has a split shipper/driver navigation, includes a built-in driver application with integrations for DOT compliance, and goes live in 14 days.
Book a 10-minute audit
We will audit your current site in the first 10 minutes and show you exactly where it is costing you drivers and freight.
Book a 30-minute strategy call.
Walk away with a plan — even if we never work together.
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