Posted 04.12.2024
Whether you’re creating a new website from scratch or redesigning an old one, it can be difficult to know where to start with a B2B website build. While design aspects like layouts and colour schemes might immediately grab your attention, there are many other things to consider that will have just as much – or more – impact on how successful your site is.
At Evolve Trader, we’re here to help you make your eCommerce site a success. And that starts with the basics, so we’ve put together this primer on what needs to be included in a B2B website.
We’ll explore aspects that your website visitors will actively look out for, as well as those that will have a less obvious but equally deep impact. We’ll look at how the needs of a B2B website compare to a B2C one, to help contextualise the decisions you have to make.
So if you’re a B2B company starting out with a new website build, read on to find out how to impress visitors and convert them into customers.
Before we get started on what to include in your site, we need to address the purpose of a B2B website – after all, that should inform every decision you make about the site.
The main purposes of a B2B website are lead generation and/or sales. Similar to B2C websites, you’re looking to attract website visitors and convince them to purchase your product or service.
These are the main purposes but rarely the only ones. A B2B website can also be used to share important information about your product or offering in general, and it can be a great tool to support brand identity and build credibility. It can even be used to raise awareness or to educate audiences more broadly.
Even a seemingly straightforward B2B eCommerce site likely won’t focus purely on generating leads or converting new customers. It is also a way to inspire customer loyalty and make sure people keep returning to your business rather than your competitors.
At its core, the purpose of any B2B website is to support your business goals, whatever they are, and to meet the needs of your customers.
The difference between a B2B online store and a B2C one is its target audience. While a B2C website is aimed directly at individual customers buying for personal use, a B2B eCommerce website is aimed at customers who are acting on behalf of a business.
This might sound like a small difference, but it is actually a fundamental one. Conversions can be far harder to earn with a B2B eCommerce store. Purchases are usually more expensive, either due to bulk purchases or the need for higher product quality, and this makes it harder to encourage people to part with their money in the first place.
It isn’t just due to purchase costs either. There are often multiple stakeholders in B2B purchases, meaning more people need convincing that your business is the one to trust.
Business customers can even be more risk-averse than other customer groups overall. There will be a lot heavier consequences resting on their purchases as they often serve a whole business – potential customers need to know they are getting a product that will deliver on its cost. They are less likely to be attracted by something as simple as cheap prices or limited-time deals (though bulk discounts can still be persuasive).
All these considerations should have a big impact on your website, in terms of content and design.
What customers need from a B2B eCommerce store is similar to what a customer wants from a B2C one but not exactly the same. Your average customer will be looking for:
The differences come down to how these are delivered, and to what extent they are created. As we mentioned above, a customer buying for personal use is likely to have lower standards than someone shopping online on behalf of their business.
The user experience (UX) of any website is incredibly important. B2B sites are no exception.
Potential customers need to find your site easy to use and be able to quickly access the information they need. Any customer who is left struggling through endless menus and sub-pages on a website, unable to find the products they want is not going to convert. Even if they eventually stumble across what they are looking for, they will have lost faith in your business and the quality of the experience they would get buying from you.
With business customers, this is even more pressing. Multiple stakeholders may need to navigate your site before purchasing and even if it’s only one, they will have higher standards when reporting back to others.
Just because a website is built for business customers to use doesn’t mean it will only be accessed on a desktop. Whether it’s on-site, during a meeting or a quick conversation in someone else’s office, there are plenty of reasons users will need to visit your website on a mobile device.
If you don’t deliver the same high-quality experience to desktop and mobile users, you will likely lose out on a large number of sales. Responsiveness (and speed) across multiple devices is vital.
Due to the higher price tag on most of their purchases, business customers need to fully trust you and your product before they commit to buying it. Your website is one of the key ways you earn that trust.
You earn it in a variety of ways. We’ve already discussed how UX and responsive design play a part, but they are not enough.
The content on your site is also important. Social proof (reviews, case studies, testimonials, etc.) is a great start, but supporting information such as blog posts or unique research will prove your business is an expert in what it sells.
Even your tone of voice will help. The way you talk about your offering needs to be authoritative and persuasive but it must also be concise and clear. This balance is important.
The points listed above may feel vague as far as ‘inclusions’ go. They are less things that a visitor will spot immediately, and more things that will drive them away if lacking. However, there are concrete things that B2B websites can check off for inclusion on their website too – let’s get into those.
There are some key features that every B2B eCommerce website should have, that will help you deliver a persuasive and enjoyable experience for your customers.
They are:
Historically, B2B sales were often handled in person. This allowed you to personalise the way you pitched your products to potential customers. You could highlight the features that would benefit that customer in particular.
This isn’t so easy on an eCommerce platform. Instead, you need to make sure your product descriptions are clear, while also sharing all the information that customers might need to know. User-friendly formatting options like bulleted lists, as well as easy-to-understand language, is vital. Don’t waste space on empty, irrelevant claims or confusing buzzwords.
Address the benefits your product or service brings but use facts and keep it to the point.
Due to the high value of their purchases, customers on B2B sites are likely to have questions. They will have colleagues or stakeholders who will also have questions. Your website needs to make it as straightforward as possible to get to the answers.
One way to provide them is through informative content on your site. FAQs, comprehensive product descriptions, downloadable brochures and supporting articles will all help to ensure potential customers find out what they need to know.
However, there will always be questions you can’t predict. Questions that are specific to a company’s situation, their needs or their order. For these questions, a contact form is going to be a preferred option for a lot of people. Yours needs to be easy to find and easy to use.
Social proof is a great persuasive tool in any eCommerce business, but particularly in B2B. By sharing unbiased, external opinions on your products you can quickly generate trust and authority.
Unfortunately, with B2B, collecting these vital reviews can be harder. Put in plenty of effort to get them, but also make sure they are prominently placed on your website so that they deliver the most value possible.
Case studies about how your products have supported people are also great – include quotes from satisfied customers and outline exactly how your product helped them, and you’ll have an invaluable addition to your website.
Customers may want to make bulk orders – this is often why they’re seeking a B2B option in the first place. Making this task as simple as possible is a great way to win customers over.
This doesn’t have to mean offering bulk discounts or enforcing a minimum order quantity. Just make options as customisable as possible and make the potential variations clear.
An easy-to-complete bulk order form that allows customers to add a large number of products by SKU and quantity might feel outdated but it is very user-friendly. And your website should always focus on features your customers actually want, not bells and whistles that don’t deliver.
SEO is not a single thing that you put on your website. Instead, it’s a concept you need to weave throughout the entire website design process.
Search engines’ reputations rest on their ability to present users with high-quality results. You need to convince them your website can deliver that quality before they will rank your business on the first page of their results. And, as up to 93% of website traffic comes from the first results page, you need that coveted top 10 spot.
Optimising your B2B website is not exactly a quick task, but it is one well worth doing. Great content, optimised with relevant keywords, and a site that is technically sound, will take you far here.
Not every B2B website looks the same. They’re not even built the same. But you can bet every successful website hits all of the points we’ve explained above, ensuring it delivers the best possible user experience and convinces visitors to purchase.
At Evolve Trader, we help B2B eCommerce businesses manage their product catalogues with an ordering platform that puts customers first. If you’d like to find out how we can help support your business, get in touch today to book a demo.
