4 Steps Before Building or Outsourcing the Development of a B2B Website

A business-to-business website is markedly different from a consumer-based one. It’s often targeting major corporate buyers and selling products or services with a larger price tag too. Before deciding to go ahead and build the website in-house (or to outsource it to a web studio), these 4 steps are useful to go through. 

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1. Know Your Design Priorities

When we talk about design priorities for entrepreneurs, we’re not just talking about a graphical slider at the top of the home page or other eye-catching features. Instead, we’re talking about target markets and how they relate to the design and structure of the site. 

When building a b2b website, you want to know who you’re selling to. The design should mostly appeal to that audience. So, if it’s SMEs that receive your services, make the appearance and functionality reflect that. 

Also, it’s often useful to offer a separate section on the site to segment the business audience. This way, a more tailored approach can target companies with fewer than 100 employees, those with 101 to one thousand, and larger corporations. too. After all, their priorities and needs won’t be the same. 

2. Organize Your Payment Gateway

Whether you’re planning to use a payment gateway or e-commerce payment processors like 2Checkout, Stripe, or PayPal and eventually have it integrated into the site, it’s useful to get that process started as early as possible.

Also, if the site is being redesigned and you’re taking the opportunity to change the payment processor or payment gateway, don’t make that switch too late. It requires time to apply, provide the ID proof required, and get approved for an account. Even then, the early transactions will be subject to further verifications before any payments received can be accessed. So, get the ball rolling earlier rather than later. 

3. Decide on the Platform (and Don’t Change Your Mind Later)

With a B2B site, choosing the right platform from the start and not changing your mind when the site is half-way to being done is especially important. 

For instance, it’s possible to have a site created using the WordPress content management system and use WooCommerce for the e-commerce features. Alternatively, a bespoke website could be developed with a shopping cart and integrated payment processing from a company like Stripe. Some mom ‘n’ pop setups may even use Shopify and get a site designed for that platform to make life easier (something they likely will quickly outgrow). 

Do understand that these are distinct, with completely separate systems, functionality, and site designs – and they’re incompatible with one another. Therefore, a sudden switch mid-way through a B2B site design means losing money and starting over from scratch on the new platform. 

4. Plan from the Start to Make the Site Impactful

A B2B website must visually “Pop!” and stand out from the crowd. Also, with the copywriting, speak to the mind of the potential buyer. Take a layered approach to not overwhelm initial visitors to the homepage. Get to the point quickly. Then get more granular with additional information depth as it’s requested or needed. Also, use video to demonstrate or explain visual elements more clearly too. 

Getting a B2B site developed is more complex than a standard website that doesn’t sell directly to visitors. Therefore, additional time must be taken to target customers correctly and ensure the technology platform will suit your business needs now and in the future.