A new B2B website project can be a time of excitement. And stress. But mostly excitement. Yet, also overwhelming. You may not know what to expect, where to start, who to bring in, and what you need to provide to the B2B web design agency.
Stop. Breathe. Relax. We’ve got you covered with tips on how to prepare for your B2B website project.
Why should you listen to me? At any given time, I’m overseeing 20+ B2B web design projects from kick-off to launch. Here are my tips to help streamline the process, remove some stress from your life, and get the website design you envisioned up and running.
Identify the goals for the new website
Before you start any project in life or work, you need to know what you hope to accomplish. This can be accomplished by setting clear goals. Ask yourself and your team, “What do we want from this new website?”
A few common goals for a new website can be:
- Attract more website visitors and potential clients
- Improve the bounce rate and keep visitors engaged
- Convert visitors into new leads
- Tell your brand story, which includes how you help your customers
I find it’s helpful to write out your goals and get buy-in from your internal stakeholders. B2B website projects run smoothly when all those involved in the project are on the same page and working towards the same goals.
Read more: Top B2B Web Design Trends for 2022.
Evaluate your current B2B website
As you set out to build a new website, it’s a good practice to see what you currently have on a website. Before you look at your website and think, “I hate all this,” I’ve got a few questions you should consider in your evaluation.
Take a close look at your existing site with these questions in mind:
- What do I like?
- What do I not like?
- What pages are getting the most traffic?
- Review the navigation – Is it accurate and relevant?
- Review the current copy – Is it accurate and clear
The more specific you can be in your evaluation, the better. For example, you may find that all the copy is completely outdated and doesn’t even discuss your products or services in their existing iterations. Or you may find that a page you think wasn’t a big deal brings a lot of potential prospects to the website and guides them down the buying path towards your products or services.
This process can be surprising for marketers involved in a website redesign. Often, our clients discover something they really do like about their existing website that we can showcase in a newer, more polished design.
Review your competitors’ websites
Marketing and sales folks know that it’s crucial to keep an eye on the competition and see what is happening in the industry. This is also a crucial step in a B2B web design project. We definitely don’t want to copy any other competitor or steal their ideas, but it can be helpful to see what they focus on their website, how they get their message across, and how they are maintaining the website.
As you consider a competitor or industry website, focus on what your competition is doing well, what they are missing from their website, and how you feel when you are navigating around their website. We always ask clients to share several competitors’ websites with us so we can do a review as well. It’s a good way to see how your competitors are speaking to your target market and where we can differentiate your brand and website.
Think about imagery
The imagery and visuals used in a B2B web design can completely change the tone and perception of your brand. In addition to looking at competitor sites, we also recommend finding a few websites (these can be B2C or from other B2B industries) that you like or find interesting.
Having a general idea about what type of imagery you’d like to see on your new website is helpful in guiding the designers in the right direction. Do you like illustrations, videos, subtle movement, images of people, abstract visuals, etc? These can be hard to articulate if you don’t have an extensive background, that’s why we recommend finding a few sites that you do like.
Read More: B2B Web Design Tips for Lead Gen.
Know your SEO
Search engine optimization has become an essential component of any B2B website design project. When you work with an experienced B2B agency like Bop Design, the question of SEO strategy will always come up.
It’s helpful to know things like what SEO work has been done on your current website and what keywords do you/would you like to rank for? It’s a good time to look at your overall strategy and evaluate whether your existing SEO strategy is still relevant and appropriate for your brand. If your SEO strategy is doing well, it’s important to take steps to ensure the continuity of that strategy on the new site launch.
Determine necessary integrations
Your website is often the hub and central platform for all your B2B marketing efforts. Before or at the beginning of a website redesign, it’s crucial to consider the integrations you expect to include in the new website.
For example, do you have a CRM that you want to connect with your website forms? Do you have an email marketing platform that you want to integrate with your website or will you be changing your existing platform? Do you plan to use a sales chatbot on the website? Do you plan to integrate other pop-up or form tools on the site?
Building the website with the integrations in mind can ensure the design easily integrates with these additional platforms – making your life easier!
Read More: A B2B Website Checklist to Maximize CRO.
Gather key players
While you may be the main proponent of a B2B website design, you likely have a team of internal (both direct and indirect) stakeholders. Rather than involve every single department and leader in your organization, gather just the key players. If you aren’t sure who to select, talk to your leadership team and advise that you need a key member that they will delegate and grant decision-making power to.
To be honest, the best projects often have the fewest stakeholders involved and have an internal process for review. Clear communication and explanations about design and copy decisions can be helpful in getting internal buy-in, support, and excitement about a new website design.
