In this guide · 8 sections
- 01What shippers look for on a logistics website
- 02A quote form that captures what pricing needs
- 03Shipment tracking without building a portal
- 04Certifications and trust: show proof, not just logos
- 05Pages for regional clients in their language
- 06Protect your customers from fake invoices in your name
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Build the quote form around what pricing needs: origin and destination, mode, Incoterm, HS code or goods description, weight, dimensions and ready date. Link to carrier or TMS tracking rather than building your own, show certifications with numbers and expiry dates, and add pages in your main client languages.
What shippers look for on a logistics website
Importers, exporters and e-commerce sellers usually arrive with a specific job in mind. The pages that matter most are:
- Services by mode: sea freight (FCL and LCL), air freight, cross-border trucking, customs brokerage, warehousing and last-mile, each with its own page.
- Lanes and coverage: the routes you are strong on, such as Singapore to Malaysia, Indonesia, China or Europe.
- Get a quote: one prominent button on every page leading to a structured form.
- Track a shipment: a link or box near the top for existing customers.
- Proof: certifications, memberships and insurance details that can be checked.
- Contact: office address, operating hours and a direct line for urgent shipments.
Specialist pages for industries you handle, such as cold chain, dangerous goods or project cargo, also help you appear in searches for those exact needs.
A quote form that captures what pricing needs
A good form asks enough to price the job but no more. Use dropdowns and conditional fields so a simple LCL enquiry stays short while air or dangerous goods get the extra questions.
| Field | Why pricing needs it | Form tip |
|---|---|---|
| Origin and destination (city, port or address) | Lane and pick-up or delivery charges | Separate fields for door or port |
| Mode (sea FCL or LCL, air, road) | Different rate sheets | Dropdown; show container sizes only for FCL |
| Incoterm | Who pays which leg and risk | Dropdown of the eleven Incoterms 2020 rules, plus 'not sure' |
| Goods description and HS code if known | Duty, permits and controlled items | HS code optional, with a link to Customs' checker |
| Weight, dimensions, number of packages | Chargeable weight and space | Allow file upload of a packing list |
| Cargo ready date and any special handling | Space booking, dangerous goods, temperature | Tick boxes for DG, reefer, oversized |
The ICC's Incoterms page describes the rules as a set of eleven three-letter trade terms, with Incoterms 2020 in force since 1 January 2020 as the most recent edition. For HS codes, Singapore Customs explains that Singapore uses 8-digit codes under the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature, and its Find my HS code page links to the HS/CA Product Code Checker. Linking it from the form helps customers who do not know their code.
Send each enquiry to a shared sales inbox or CRM with an auto-reply that states when they will hear back. Our guide to automating lead follow-up from enquiry forms shows how to route and chase quotes.
Shipment tracking without building a portal
Building your own tracking system is expensive and rarely needed for an SME forwarder. The usual options, from simplest to most involved:
Links to carrier tracking
Simplest- A page with links to shipping line and airline tracking
- Customer enters the container, bill of lading or air waybill number there
- No integration work
Best for: Small forwarders and occasional shippers.
TMS customer portal or widget
Most common- Your transport management system's portal, linked or embedded
- Shows your own milestones and documents
- Customer logins managed in the TMS
Best for: Forwarders already running a TMS with a portal.
Custom tracking page
- Pulls status from your TMS or carrier APIs
- Branded, can show milestones and ETAs
- Ongoing maintenance when APIs change
Best for: Larger firms with steady volumes and an in-house developer.
Whichever you pick, put the tracking link in the main menu and in every shipment email so customers stop phoning for updates.
Certifications and trust: show proof, not just logos
Logos of associations and certifications are easy to copy, and buyers know it. Make claims checkable.
- Singapore Customs STP: the Secure Trade Partnership is a voluntary supply chain security certification open to freight forwarders, warehouse operators and transporters, with a higher STP-Plus tier. If you hold it, say which tier.
- ISO and other certificates: give the standard, certificate number, scope, certifying body and expiry date, and offer the PDF on request.
- Memberships: name the association and your membership status; link to the association's member directory if it has one.
- Insurance and liability terms: link your standard trading conditions so customers know their position before booking.
- Company details: registered name and UEN in the footer, matching your invoices.
Pages for regional clients in their language
Many Singapore forwarders serve shippers in China, Indonesia, Vietnam or Thailand. A few well-translated pages often bring more enquiries than a fully machine-translated site.
Pick one or two languages that match real clients
Look at where current enquiries and invoices come from rather than translating into every regional language.
Translate the money pages first
Home, your main services, the quote form and contact page. Leave blog posts in English until there is demand.
Use a human for the final pass
Machine translation is a good first draft, but freight terms and your trading conditions need a fluent reviewer.
Set up language URLs properly
Use separate URLs per language, such as /zh/ or /id/, with hreflang tags so search engines show the right version.
Route enquiries to someone who reads them
A Chinese-language form that lands with a team that cannot reply in Chinese loses the lead.
Protect your customers from fake invoices in your name
Forwarders are a common target for invoice fraud: criminals send customers a fake invoice or 'change of bank details' notice that appears to come from you. Your website can help prevent it.
State on the website and on every invoice that you never change bank details by email, and that customers should call a published number to confirm. Protect your domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC so criminals cannot send as your exact address. Our guide on stopping invoice fraud in freight and trading firms covers the full protocol.
Do it yourself or get help?
A website builder can handle the pages, and form tools can build a decent quote form. Costs rise with languages, conditional forms and tracking integrations; our guide to website costs in Singapore gives the ranges.
Our Website Pro (S$2,990) builds up to 12 pages plus a blog, in two languages (you supply the translated text), with an enquiry form and full on-page SEO. Workflow Automation (S$390 per workflow) can route each quote request into your CRM or shared inbox with an automatic reply.
Frequently asked questions
Origin and destination, mode of transport, Incoterm, goods description and HS code if known, weight, dimensions and number of packages, cargo ready date, and any special handling such as dangerous goods or temperature control. Let customers upload a packing list. These details let your pricing team quote without extra emails.
Usually not. Most SME forwarders link to carrier tracking pages or to the customer portal of their transport management system. A custom tracking page that pulls data from your TMS or carrier APIs makes sense only at steady volumes, because it needs ongoing maintenance when those systems change.
Your quote form can ask for an HS code as an optional field, which helps you check duties, permits and controlled goods. Many customers do not know their code, so link to Singapore Customs' Find my HS code page and HS/CA Product Code Checker. Singapore uses 8-digit codes based on the ASEAN tariff nomenclature.
Give the certification name, the tier or scope, the certificate number, the issuing body and the expiry date, and offer the certificate on request. Logos alone are easy to fake and buyers know it. Remove anything expired promptly, because procurement teams do check.
It is if you have real clients who prefer another language. Translate the home page, main services, quote form and contact page first, get a fluent reviewer to check freight terms, and make sure enquiries in that language reach someone who can reply. Separate language URLs with hreflang tags help search engines.