2023 Top Ten Best Practices for B2B and Nonprofit Website Design

Based on MVP’s review of more than two thousand websites through numerous client engagements entailing our MVP BrandMate  (branding) and MVP TeamMate (website design) processes, we’ve set out to identify how brand and web savvy B2B companies and nonprofit organizations can elevate their brand image, attract potential customers, patrons and donors, and provide transactional information about their products and services. This post will delve into a fresh perspective on 2023’s best practices for website design and development, using real-world examples drawn from MVP’s constantly evolving portfolio of private capital, healthcare, manufacturing and nonprofit websites and the many interwoven branding engagements that are often part and parcel of the process.

1. Purpose-Driven Design: Before embarking on the website design journey, it’s crucial to pinpoint the website’s purpose and establish a clear set of interactive objectives. Whether the aim is to generate leads, showcase products and services through an E-Commerce or E-Catalog capability, or to provide thought leadership, these goals will steer the design and ensure every element on the website serves a specific purpose. For example, application of the MVP TeamMate℠ website design and development process, as evidenced by sites for such clients as  NAMSA (healthcare/medical device), North Star Resource Group (financial services), Roadtrek (consumer durable manufacturing) and First Children’s Finance (nonprofit/CDFI) demonstrate how website form and functionality exemplify purpose-driven design. Please click the respective links to view the case histories associated with each example.
2. Design with the User in Mind: Prioritizing user experience is a key website design best practice. Consider the target audience, their needs, and browsing habits. An intuitive navigation structure, responsive design, and seamless user experience are vital to fulfilling this objective. The MVP TeamMate℠ process as incorporated into MVP’s site on behalf of North Star Resource Group, a financial services/insurance leader with over $11.3B AUM, and serving both retail investors and its more than 160 registered investment advisors (RIAs), each with their own in-house site, clearly demonstrates this best practice.
3. Brand Consistency: Every website should echo the unique brand identity of the company or organization it reflects. Consistent visual brand elements like logo, color scheme, typography, and imagery should align with the company’s overall brand strategy and mirror verbal communications as well. MVP’s comprehensive brand-to-web redesign of  Teksetra’s website exemplifies this approach. Teksetra, formerly known as BLM Technologies, and a leading provider of single source IT services, required everything from renaming to rebranding to a new e-Commerce website. Click this link to view the MVP case study with links to many of the brand refresh elements, including an exciting brand refresh video.
4. Engaging Visuals: Stimulating imagery whether in the form of proprietary company, product/service and location photography or video depicting your location and team is instrumental in grabbing visitors’ attention and supplementing website verbiage. A related best practice is to employ testimonial videos, e.g., company or organization spokesperson or portfolio company CEO, in the case of private equity firms, as either onsite visual enhancements or in the form of LinkedIn social media assets. Modified stock photography rather than “grab and go” often cliché stock photography should be utilized whenever possible. Please visit our MVP Video landing page, as well as our Private Capital Video landing page, for industry-leading website video examples.
5. Clear, Concise Messaging: It doesn’t take a B-school MBA to grasp that a website’s content should be clear, concise, and focused on delivering key messages. Rather than writing copy based solely on the website site map, it’s best to leverage foundational branding efforts through application of a well-founded brand architecture process, which ideally should be foundational. Oftentimes at MVP, we apply the MVP BrandMate℠ process to kick-start website copy whether written by our clients or team. Such award-winning private equity websites as Beedie Capital (Vancouver) and Mortar Group (New York, NY) aptly demonstrate this best practice.
6. Persuasive Calls-to-Action (CTA): Strategically placed and visually appealing CTAs can convert website visitors into leads. The CTAs on such sites as Mason Wells, a leading Midwest-based private equity firm investing in both B2B and B2C companies as well as Clearsight Advisors, a Washington, D.C. technology-focused investment bank, which needed to guide diverse stakeholders to their destination based on capability, industry focus, and transaction demonstrates this best practice.
7. Fast Loading Time: A slow-loading website can deter visitors from going further. Optimizing website performance by minimizing file sizes, leveraging caching techniques, and utilizing CDNs can enhance user experience. A good website should score at least 95% on the Google Lighthouse speed test, as all MVP sites do. Check out our site for Nashville-based Brentwood Capital, a recognized national leader in healthcare investment banking to experience how fast their content-rich website, featuring a Music City drone flyover, loads on your browser.
8. SEO Best Practices: Basic SEO practices can boost the website’s visibility in search engine rankings and increase organic traffic. Earlier mentioned MVP sites for such clients as NAMSA (Healthcare), Teksetra (Technology Services), Shoreview (Private Equity), Brentwood Capital (Investment Banking) and Midwest Mezzanine Funds (Junior Capital) have benefitted from such SEO enhancements. Please visit their case histories to learn more.
9. Analytics Integration: Integrating tools like Google Analytics can provide valuable insights into visitor behavior, user flow, conversion rates, and other key metrics. We’ve observed many smaller lower middle market companies, professional services firms and nonprofits fail to install and benefit from the insights offered through the easy installation of Google Analytics. A full-service digital agency like MVP, can not only assist by providing a well-designed website but enhance it by easily installing Google Analytics. Going one step beyond, contracting for a monthly SEO program will not only provide GA insights but help you maximize site traffic through SEO best practices including recommendations based on user traffic and behavior patterns. Click here to learn more about MVP’s SearchMate SEO capabilities and how it has helped many of our B2B and nonprofit clients maximize their websites through a combination of analytics and SEO best practices.
10. Regular Website Updates and Maintenance: Keeping the website current is essential for its long-term success. We at MVP rely on our MVP TeamMate℠ process not only pre-but post-launch to ensure that for any client requesting it, we can provide the support needed to update and maintain any of our custom-designed (no template) WordPress sites by keeping abreast of the latest core WordPress website version updates. If you have any questions or concerns about whether your website’s requires an upgrade, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.

In conclusion, an expertly designed website is a valuable asset for B2B and nonprofits alike,  enabling them to effectively engage with their target audience and incentivize user visits, engagements and transactions. By adopting MVP’s Top 10 Best Practices in website design and development, your organization can build a strong online presence that aligns with its brand identity and fulfill its unique mission, vison and web presence.

To determine whether your site qualifies for a complimentary website assessment, please contact info@mvpdesign.com. We reserve the right to provide this assessment based on company size and type.