{"id":14407,"date":"2022-02-17T19:23:54","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T19:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/17\/what-is-user-experience-in-b2b-website-design\/"},"modified":"2022-02-17T19:23:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T19:23:54","slug":"what-is-user-experience-in-b2b-website-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/17\/what-is-user-experience-in-b2b-website-design\/","title":{"rendered":"What is User Experience in B2B Website Design?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When you\u2019re tasked with purchasing something your business needs, how long do you want to walk through the weeds before finding what you\u2019re looking for? Do you want to wander through endless web pages and navigation menus that don\u2019t actually answer your questions, or take you to irrelevant pages where you can\u2019t find the product or service you\u2019re looking for?<\/p>\n

No one wants that, which is why creating a website that offers a<\/span> great<\/span> user<\/span> experience<\/span> is<\/span> critical<\/span> to not just your inbound marketing success<\/a>, but your overall<\/span> business<\/span> success<\/span> as well. What is user experience in B2B website design? Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n

User Experience in the Context of B2B Websites<\/h2>\n

User experience, or UX, is simply defined as the experience a user has when using your website<\/span> or any other product. It\u2019s a bit of a blanket term that can apply to so many things, but in the context of B2B websites and marketing, there are a lot more details to understand.<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that you always want to provide a good user experience to anyone who visits your website \u2014 whether they are an existing<\/span> customer<\/span> or a prospect<\/span>. A good user experience has its origins in your reason for even existing in the first place. What need<\/span> are you here to address? Why<\/span> are you here, and who<\/span> are you here for?<\/p>\n

A person or department from one business is coming to you for help with something they need. They already have a busy day and a full workload, and they\u2019re not looking for more work<\/span> when they land on your website. Give them what they need right<\/span> away<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The user experience on a website involves its design, navigation, <\/span>page load times<\/a>, content, and more<\/span>. Considering how much work and research is done online today, your website must stand strong as a clear and helpful resource<\/span> for existing and potential customers.<\/p>\n

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86.6% of small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. say that their website is their most important digital marketing asset.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A good user experience can lead to conversions<\/a> and create new, delighted customers.<\/span> A bad user experience can create aggravation and confusion, which may rule them out as a customer \u2014 perhaps permanently. They may even spread the word about how clunky and unusable your website was for them, which is a snowball you don\u2019t want to start.<\/p>\n

Why is UX Important in Inbound Marketing?<\/h2>\n

Inbound marketing methods revolve around the flywheel<\/span> \u2014 attract, engage, and delight<\/a>. Content and ads can attract prospective customers<\/span> to your website, while more targeted<\/span> content<\/span> and a well-built, easy to navigate website that\u2019s relevant to their needs can engage<\/span> them. Then, after they (hopefully) become a customer, your website can continue to delight<\/span> them with a great user experience<\/span>, follow-up emails based on their website behavior, relevant content, and support.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your website isn\u2019t providing a good user experience, you\u2019ll lose them somewhere in those three stages.<\/p>\n

You must also take into account where people are in their buyer\u2019s<\/span> journey<\/span> (awareness, consideration, decision). Buyer expectations are different<\/span> depending on where they are in their journey, and existing customers who visit your site expect to be treated differently than prospects.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/span>B2B Contextual Marketing: 4 Key Components to Maximizing Its Benefits<\/a><\/p>\n

Key Components of B2B Website for a Positive UX<\/h2>\n

Five key elements of your website can make or break the user experience:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  1. Navigation\u00a0<\/li>\n
  2. Architecture\u00a0<\/li>\n
  3. Design<\/li>\n
  4. Copy<\/li>\n
  5. Calls-to-Action (CTAs)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Navigation<\/h3>\n

    Navigation<\/a> must be well organized<\/span>. If you offer numerous products or serve different industries, make sure those are all easily found<\/span> and not presented in a cluttered manner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t throw too many choices at people<\/span> all at once<\/span>. Imagine driving and approaching an intersection that immediately presented you with dozens of signs and lights that plotted out almost every possible scenario of where you could go if you made a left turn. What a nightmare! Keep it clean and simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Architecture<\/h3>\n

    The hierarchical structure<\/a> of your website has to make logical sense.<\/span> Like navigation, you need to make things easy on the visitor so they don\u2019t get lost and confused.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Start with the Home page. From there, include menu options for broad topics. Then, within those broad topics, drill down to subtopics that make sense. For instance, Home Page > About Us > Meet Our Team. Or, Home Page > Resources > Blog > Blog Topics > (Relevant Blogs).<\/p>\n

    Not only will this benefit the visitor, but it will also help Google<\/span> when it crawls and indexes your site, giving it an SEO boost to increase your visibility<\/span> in search engines.<\/p>\n

    You also need to make sure the site is accessible<\/a> to those with visual or hearing impairments. For instance, every image must have alt text<\/span> describing it so e-readers can verbalize what the image shows. You can also subtitle<\/span> any videos you may have for the hearing impaired.<\/p>\n

    Design<\/h3>\n

    Three words: Stay on brand!<\/span><\/p>\n

    You have your logo, your slogan, and your colors. Keep those colors and any other brand elements consistent across the site.<\/span> If your brand colors are blue and silver, don\u2019t present your Home page in those colors and then shift to green and red for the Blog. Be sure your website has a continuous, singular feel.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Cleanliness<\/span> is also important when it comes to design. It\u2019s tempting to want to throw as much information at someone as quickly as possible, but if you clutter your pages, it\u2019s going to bog down the experience. No one wants to trudge through monolithic blocks of text.<\/p>\n

    Once again, keep things simple<\/span>. Easy to read, easy on the eyes, and consistent with your overall branding.<\/p>\n

    RELATED: <\/span>10 B2B Website Design Errors That You May Not Recover From<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Copy<\/h3>\n

    Website copy should be well written and free of typos and grammatical errors<\/span>. It also needs to get to the point<\/span> and make its case as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

    Answer the questions<\/span> your website visitors might have with your copy. Anticipate questions<\/span> they may have before they ask them. Make it engaging, relevant, and brief<\/span>. They don\u2019t have all day!<\/p>\n

    Another copy and content element you can consider is personalization<\/a> and Smart Content, which build stronger connections with your visitors and could make them want to make a return visit.<\/p>\n

    Learn More: <\/span>10 Examples of HubSpot Smart Content in Action<\/a><\/p>\n

    CTAs<\/h3>\n

    Like the other website copy, it\u2019s important to be clear and concise<\/span> in any calls-to-action<\/a> (CTAs) throughout your website. What exactly are they doing by clicking that button? What action<\/span> are they taking, and what expectation<\/span> can they have once that action is taken?<\/p>\n

    A good CTA will lead the clicker to some kind of next step<\/span> in the whole process. What is that next step, and does it make sense?<\/span> What\u2019s more, are you prepared to follow through<\/span> with their action in a timely manner? Don\u2019t waste this important engagement opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Testing the User Experience<\/h2>\n

    Your website should be a living and breathing thing, so to speak. Remain flexible<\/span> to necessary updates and continue to test everything.<\/span> We have a few ideas on how to accomplish this.<\/p>\n