Trends in Web Design for B2B Companies in 2021
There are many ways to define the criteria that need to be met in order for a website to be characterized as good and functional, either in a technical or marketing sense. It could be said that the website is a digital billboard that leaves the first and most important impression on visitors and potential clients.
Just as it is necessary to work on self-education and upgrading knowledge, skills, and services, so it is important that the website that represents your business and your services is constantly up to date with modern challenges and requirements.
By Investing in Website Design, You’re Investing in the Company’s Image
B2B companies create products or provide services that they sell to other companies, that is, businesses. Car companies are one of the oldest examples of B2B business. The car is just the final product but it is actually a synthesis of many other products. Giants such as Ford and Mercedes are known around the world. Their income can hardly enter any crisis despite great competition or unforeseen erosion in the world economy.
However, companies that sell certain car parts are usually less well known and they need to put in much more effort and promotions to keep current and gain new customers. The website certainly plays a big role in creating and maintaining a good image of the company and it is necessary to refresh it in accordance with the current needs of the market.
One of the biggest mistakes is neglecting the design of the website. No matter how much is invested in marketing promotions, if visitors, encouraged by a good promotion, visit the website and encounter any navigation problems, be sure they will leave the site in less than 60 seconds. For example, due to:
- Scrolling doesn’t work.
- A form cannot be filled out because it doesn’t work properly, it shows an error.
- Going back to the previous page with one click is impossible.
- The search field doesn’t work.
In a word, the bad design followed by poor navigation results in loss of credibility and customers. If that is the case, you cannot count on your visitors to positively react to receiving promotional emails from you regardless of the fact that you employed specialized platforms, a group in which VerticalResponse definitely falls, for collecting and sending emails to users. We stress that such platforms are very useful either for small or large businesses as you will be able to create professional-looking email templates to send to a subscriber list, which is important for making a good impression.
Features of Successful Design for B2B Companies.
B2B companies that understand the importance of good design and use it skillfully as a reliable weapon in the fight to win and maintain a stable position in the sea of competition, follow these principles:
- Simple, minimalist design, easy to navigate.
- The version of the site for mobile phones (Android, iPhone) and iPad devices is adapted to these devices, the appearance and functionality of the website are of the same quality as in the desktop version. This is the so-called responsive version of the site.
- An authentic design that creates a strong first impression.
Examples of Good Practice.
Grammarly.
On the homepage of this site, a very clear and specific message is sent to visitors about the service they can get. At the top of the page is a headline that briefly but effectively provides information about the services, then there is a call-to-action button that calls for clear action and provides an explanation of what will happen after the click.
A very interesting and useful addition is the animation that demonstrates the services that Grammarly offers, so for those who do not like to read, this animation is enough.
Trello.
In this example, the design is conceived as one long page, with the focus on the signup form. The homepage is minimalist as in the previous example, but even simpler because Trello has no animation. This ultra-simple page is not loaded with any other, common add-ons, such as menus, links, and customer references. It is interesting that the menu is at the bottom of the site.
The color selection is also minimalist, the only thing that is emphasized for a reason, but again not too aggressive in terms of color selection, is the call-to-action button, which calls for free account registration.
Speechly.
Highly intuitive, Speechly follows all good design trends, such as simple, functional design and clear navigation. An interesting add-on that this website has is the speech recognition API.
The Dark Mode Version of the Website.
Some of the largest companies in the world, companies like Apple, Facebook, and Twitter, have enriched their design with this trend. The dark mode was created for practical reasons, but it also meets aesthetic criteria. The advantages are as follows:
- It gives a modern look to the site.
- It allows a weaker, more pleasing to the human eye contrast of light when the user is in low light conditions and/or in a dark environment. Research conducted in the United States has shown that over 65 % of the adult population spends a significant amount of time using mobile devices before going to bed. Dark mode helps the human eye because it reduces stress due to exposure to a light source in a dark environment. Apple users can schedule automatic switching of their devices to dark mode.
- Emphasizing and/or allowing some other design elements to come to the fore.
Trends are constantly changing, they should be followed but not in an uncompromising way and applied at any cost as your only conceptual solution. For each site, including those representing B2B companies, the priorities have been and will remain:
- The minimalist approach to design.
- Clear navigation.
- Speed (which depends in part on the design).
- Consistency.
- Custom version for mobile phones and tablets.
Your website can influence your potential to generate leads online in a variety of ways. The following are a few ways:
- Branding.
- Loading time.
- Mobile access.
- Bounce rate.
- Conversions.
- Search ranking.
- Social media shares.
- Web design and marketing.
Conclusion.
If you are like many business development professionals, your primary goal is and must be to generate new leads for your company but you might not have given website design any thought. Everything else is just window dressing if you have a website that communicates your products and services, right? Wrong. This is accurate only when it comes to content.
Even the most flashy website design is useless if the content is not well-optimized and of good quality. However, in B2B, website design is important since a well-designed, modern website can help you generate leads.