Commercial websites aimed at business users are losing
out though bad design, despite their potential to generate far more
money than consumer sites, new research has revealed.
Business-to-business websites offer visitors a much worse
experience than consumer sites, the study by web design expert
Nielsen Norman Group found. Users of B2B sites were able to
accomplish what they set out to do only 58% of the time, compared
with 66% for consumer e-commerce sites.
Jakob Nielsen, co-founder and principal of Nielsen Norman Group,
said, “Most B2B sites are stuck in the 1990s in their attitude
towards user experience. By still designing for themselves rather
than for their customers, they place serious barriers in the way of
prospects who use the web to discover companies to put on their
shortlists.”
The research, conducted through field studies, focus groups and
user testing by business professionals visiting nearly 200 B2B
sites, found that bad website design harmed people’s perception of
the company.
Lack of product pricing information was a major problem – “the
most user-hostile element” of most B2B websites – the study found.
The common B2B website tactic of requiring people to fill out
registration forms could also be “a lead killer”, the researchers
noted.
The study highlighted bad design elements that led to poor user
experience of B2B websites, including incomplete product
descriptions, overwhelming and convoluted content, a difficult
navigational structure and pushy marketing tactics that caused
annoyance and distrust.