Over 70% of B2B customers research product and services before meeting with you. In fact, they prefer online interactions over in-person ones as it saves them both time and money.
Providing a positive online experience can drive more leads than cold calls and emails. But mobile-compatible designs and faster load times are not enough. A good website design should consider other factors like SEO, accessibility, personalized user experience, and much more.
To create the ultimate B2B website, developers need to stay on top of the latest trends to provide a great online experience. So, to save you some time and energy, we compiled the 6 biggest B2B website and UX trends in 2023.
Website design and UX trends for 2023
1. Short Videos
Over 50% of B2B customers watch videos online before buying a product or service. However, this comes with a slight caveat – these customers can have very short attention spans.
This isn’t entirely the case, though, as there is still an audience for long-form podcasts and shows on platforms like YouTube and Spotify. What it actually means is – people don’t have time for ‘irrelevant’ content.
Adding a short introduction video to your website showcasing your company’s brand and offerings can bring in more customers, increase engagement on your website, and provide a unique user experience, eventually leading to more conversions.
2. Immersive scrolling
Trying to create a unique user experience has led web designers to incorporate different scrolling experiences into a website, like multi-directional and asymmetrical scrolling. The most popular option is parallax scrolling, where different elements on the page move at different scrolling speeds to simulate depth. Add additional images and animations to this, and you will have yourself an immersive website experience.
It’s a great way to share your brand’s personality and voice through images. Just remember not to overdo it because overstimulation can take away from the message, and too many elements could affect the website's performance.
3. Chatbots
In 2023, we will see more chatbots integrated into websites. They offer your business opportunities to work more efficiently in a constantly changing market. You can automate processes that humans previously handled. 71% of consumers say they will turn to chatbots if they provide a better user experience, which seems to be where the world is heading.
These interactions with chatbots will improve as they start to learn and use more natural-sounding language, more complex vocabulary, and even recognize misspelled words thanks to machine learning and AI.
4. Privacy and security
Many countries are now following the EU and putting laws protecting their citizens' data in place. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 75% of the world’s population will be protected by modern data privacy laws that put the user first. So, complying with data privacy and security guidelines may save your company from legal action in the future.
Showing your commitment to data privacy also helps gain customers’ trust so that they feel more comfortable sharing their information with you, especially if you are a B2B business that works with sensitive customer information.
5. Accessibility
The beauty of the internet lies in the fact that everyone has access to information – even those with disabilities.
Entities like government websites and public information websites have to meet the standards set by the state, so this may not apply to your case. However, including keyboard-friendly features and screen-reader compatibility can go a long way in providing a more accessible experience to an entire section of society who might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
6. Dark mode
Dark mode is a very sought-after website feature. There is a high chance that your own browser is in dark mode while reading this. The low levels of light emitted in dark mode reduce eye strain and improve battery life.
Moreover, giving your visitors the option to switch to dark mode creates a more accessible and personalized user experience.
In 2023, your website design mantra should be – Less is better. You could include everything we mentioned, but it might not be ideal for your website or customer.
A good rule of thumb is to find the right balance between sharing relevant information without compromising the experience. This can really help your business stand out in the busy online world.