B2B lead generation hinges on a strong website. While fundamental web design principles apply, B2B website design demands specific elements to convince prospective clients you're the key to their growth.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a website that converts visitors into qualified leads. Let's explore the essential elements a web design company (or agency) should consider.
1. Focus on user needs & goals (start with personas).
Some people think B2B website design is all about aesthetics and following the latest web design trends... it isn’t. While these are considerations, the process begins with understanding your audience and their needs.
A good web design agency will start with research – surveys, interviews, and more – to understand your business and goals. This research informs user personas.
User personas are fictional representations of your ideal customer, encompassing demographics, behaviours, and pain points.
Personas reveal what your target audience needs. This guides our B2B web design to clearly showcase the solutions they seek.
Personas inform content hierarchy. What questions are most important to your audience? Prioritise content that answers those questions, making it prominent and easily visible. Not everyone needs the same answers, so focus on user experience and navigation. Help visitors easily find the specific service, product, or content they need.
2. Create a clean, professional & easy-to-navigate layout.
In B2B web design, quality trumps quantity. Aim for a clean, simple, and uncluttered design.
Avoid overwhelming visitors with content in every available space. Utilise whitespace, high-quality images, and a limited colour palette to draw attention to what's most important.
A clear and intuitive navigation system is crucial. Traditional navigation bars or drop-down menus are familiar and effective.
Use clear language, avoiding jargon. Assume visitors are being introduced to your business for the first time. The website should also be visually and functionally seamless across multiple devices. With mobile usage increasing, prioritise mobile optimisation. Images and page elements should be responsive, ensuring easy navigation regardless of screen size.
Feedback is invaluable. Use tools like Treejack to test navigation and identify areas that need improvement. Regularly update and test your website, even after launch, to maintain a clean and up-to-date experience
3. Optimise for conversions.
A strong product/service page is essential for converting leads. Here are the key elements:
- Clear value proposition: Concisely explain the benefits and value offered.
- Problem/Solution focus: Identify pain points and demonstrate how your product/service solves them.
- Detailed feature list: Provide comprehensive, easy-to-understand descriptions of key features.
- Benefits-oriented language: Frame features in terms of positive outcomes and advantages.
- Social proof: Include testimonials, case studies, client logos, and industry recognition.
- Visuals (images/videos): Use high-quality visuals to showcase the product/service in action.
- Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Use prominent CTAs to encourage specific actions (e.g., "Request a Demo," "Get a Quote").
- Pricing information (optional): Provide pricing details or direct visitors to a quote request form.
- Integration details: (if applicable) Information about compatibility and integration with other systems.
- Technical specifications: (if applicable) Detailed technical information, documentation, and resources.
- Comparison charts (if applicable): Side-by-side comparisons with competitors or product tiers.
- FAQ section: Answer common questions to address concerns.
- Contact information/Lead capture form: Easy access to contact options and lead capture forms.
- Security & compliance information (if applicable): Assurance regarding data security and compliance.
- Downloadable resources: Whitepapers, ebooks, datasheets, or other valuable content.
B2B website design example: Everyone’s Energy
Everyone’s Energy (EE) is a forward-thinking company offering sustainable energy solutions such as solar panel installations. While EE is traditionally a B2C organisation, they were becoming increasingly focused on commercial B2B installations.
Our work began with a brand review including stakeholder interviews to capture the essence of their friendly and consultative approach which was reflected throughout their design and messaging. We developed an award-winning website with a bold, dynamic, and friendly design, using bright colours, engaging illustrations, and animations to create an immediate positive feel.
Prospective clients were made to feel comfortable answering questions and were made aware of the benefits, which was essential when deciding to transform their business’ energy system. SEO was also key to the design, with webpage copy and meta data being optimised with target keywords to improve visibility of service pages and informative blogs.
Finally, we implemented HubSpot Marketing and Sales, which enabled EE to automatically gather customer information, set tasks, follow up leads, and send responses.
4. Make it easy for potential clients to contact you.
Unlike e-commerce, B2B purchases are rarely made online. Clients need to contact you for more information and to discuss their specific needs.
Make it easy to get in touch:
- Contact form: Allow visitors to fill out a form on your website. Place it in a prominent location, such as in your hero section.
- Contact information: Display your phone number, email address, and physical address clearly.
- "Contact Us" button: Add a button or link to your website that directs visitors to your contact information.
- Click-to-call/Click-to-email: Allow visitors to initiate a call or email directly from their device.
- Live chat: Implement a live chat feature for real-time support.
- Social media links: Include links to your social media profiles. Place these at the bottom of the page to avoid distracting users from your website content.
5. Optimise your website for search engines (SEO).
Your B2B website design might be filled with useful content, but it will go to waste if no one can see it... that's where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in.
SEO ensures your website ranks highly on search engines. When someone makes a Google search, Google presents the results it believes best answer the user’s query.
The cost of a web design can be influenced by the level of SEO strategy. However, at Contra Agency, we try to embed as much of the basic into the original scope.
Here are some SEO basics a B2B web design should follow:
- Relevant keywords: Use keywords that are relevant to your business and the specific content. Utilise keyword research tools such as Semrush or Uberuggest.
- Optimise meta tags: Optimise your title tags, meta descriptions, and images using relevant keywords.
- High-quality content: Write high-quality content with keywords naturally woven throughout.
- Internal linking: Link to other pages on your website to help search engines understand your site structure.
- Backlinks: Get other websites to link to your site.
- Sitemap: Submit a sitemap to Google to help the algorithm better understand your site's structure.
B2B website design example: EcoAct
EcoAct approached Contra with a slow website that performed poorly on search engines. As an international leader in climate consultancy, the businesses’ global reach demanded territory-specific SEO.
We conducted extensive keyword research for key countries and optimised landing pages with target keywords in meta titles, descriptions, and headings. To improve content strategy, we separated evergreen and news-based content, optimising top-performing evergreen content into topic clusters with strategic internal linking. Finally, a website rebuild dramatically improved site speed, exceeding Core Web Vitals benchmarks.
6. Make your website mobile-friendly.
With more people visiting websites on their phones, mobile optimisation is crucial. Your B2B website design must be mobile-friendly, both in terms of SEO and user experience.
Responsive design is essential. Images, text, and other elements need to automatically adjust in size and position for smaller screens.
Compress images to ensure the website loads quickly on mobile. Buttons, text, and links should be large. Limit the number of pop-ups. Implement browser detection to ensure mobile users are automatically directed to the mobile version of the site.
7. Utilise responsive design techniques.
A responsive B2B web design changes in appearance and functionality based on the device.
Key aspects include:
- Responsive grid system: Use a framework that allows you to create a layout that adapts to different screen sizes.
- Flexible elements: Images, videos, and typography need to be scaled proportionately.
- CSS media queries: CSS media queries allow you to apply different styles based on the screen size of the device.
- Testing: Test on multiple devices and browsers to ensure it appears and functions correctly
8. Incorporate Calls-to-Action (CTAs).
Calls-to-action (CTAs) prompt prospective customers to take a specific action. They're a crucial part of any B2B website design.
A CTA is most commonly a button with text encouraging the reader to do something. The text should be direct and specific, making it clear what action you’d like the reader to take.
Just like the text, the button itself should be easy for the user to spot. Position it above the fold.
Consider the colour of your CTA buttons. They should contrast with other colours on your website.
Test different colours, wording, and positioning and monitor analytics to see what performs best.
9. Incorporate social proof.
Social proof is one of the best ways to convince prospective customers of the quality and effectiveness of your services. It should be a prominent part of B2B web design.
Types of social proof include:
- Testimonials and reviews: Feature quotes from satisfied clients. Use reputable review platforms.
- Case studies: Offer in-depth looks at successful projects.
- Media mentions: Highlight if your business has been featured on another reputable site.
- Awards and certifications: Display any awards or certifications your business has received.
- Client logos: Showcase the logos of well-known clients you've worked with.
- Social media badges: Make social media badges visible and link through to your channels.
B2B website design example: MBL
MBL Seminars are leaders in Professional Development, offering in-person and online learning led by industry experts. With the site targeting professional services, it needed to combine a classic, authoritative feel with a modern, cutting-edge design.
Social proof plays an important role throughout the design, with a moving slider showcasing their high-profile clients being placed in a prominent location at the top of the homepage.
Other eye-catching trustmarkers are also incorporated, highlighting the fact MBL has produced thousands of courses, trained hundreds of thousands of delegates, and delivered millions of hours worth of training. A large testimonial block is also featured, allowing users to scroll through a selection of positive reviews MBL has received from its delegates.
10. Consider accessibility.
A responsible web design company creates websites accessible to everyone, including users with disabilities. This involves several key considerations:
- Semantic HTML: Use proper HTML markup to structure the website for assistive technologies.
- ARIA landmarks: Utilise ARIA landmarks to aid navigation.
- Clear link text: Use descriptive link text so users understand where links lead.
- Keyboard navigation: Ensure the website is navigable using only a keyboard.
- Alt text for images: Provide descriptive alt text for all images for screen reader users.
- Colour contrast: Use sufficient colour contrast for readability.
Testing is critical. Use web accessibility tools like WebAIM's WAVE and adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to identify and address accessibility issues. This ensures a positive experience for all visitors.
Need a B2B web design agency?
A strong B2B Website provides credibility that creates trust with potential customers.
A clean, easily navigatable B2B website design is also key to generating new leads. Potential customers need to be able to quickly assess if you are the solution they have been searching for.
If this resonates with you and you are ready to take your business to the next level, reach out today for a free consultation with one of our team.
