How are B2B Websites Different from B2C Websites?

e-Commerce is a booming industry, and has taken the world by storm especially after the lockdown and no-touch restrictions put in place by governments all over the globe in attempts to curb the spread of a pandemic. Everyone seems to shop online these days, irrespective of barriers like age and technological knowledge.

Even the few consumers who were reluctant to step on board the digital express due to various reasons like lack of technical awareness, fear of non-conventional methods of shopping, and more, have gradually and steadily started utilizing different e-commerce platforms to meet their day to day needs. If you are a business owner with foresight, it’s highly likely that you have already built an online store or e-commerce website to take your business online.

With a rise in the number of manufacturers and retailers who offer goods and services to their end users by using the internet as a medium, the demand for e-commerce websites have also gone up exponentially. Sellers have started realising that having a brick and mortar store is not enough to hold up against a competitive marketplace, and are opting to do their business online one way or another. This includes business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) business models as well. Businesses that transact directly with their end customers are called B2C business   es and businesses that deal directly with other businesses to sell their products and services are called B2B businesses. So, what is the main difference between B2B and B2C websites? 

One of the main differences between B2B and B2C websites lies in the aspects of their design. In website design, most developers try to go for a good balance between emphasis given to the front end and back end. As far as design is considered, designers believe that form is as important as function. So, as the front end governs the user interface and how appealing it would look to the end user, the back end handles the technical aspects of the website and is not visible to the end user, you need to distribute your resources such that there are no compromises made on the user-facing side as well as the developer facing side.

However, the scope of websites changes in accordance with the features and capabilities that are prioritised by the business in question. For example, if you consider a ticket-booking website, more priority is usually given to the back end. This is because the website must be designed to handle huge loads when numerous users log in at the same time. However, if you consider gaming software, then the front end will get more priority. 

The same concept is the main difference between websites designed specifically for B2B and B2C businesses. B2C businesses focus more on the front end as they interact directly with their consumers and need to keep their websites user-friendly and visually pleasing. Meanwhile, B2B businesses are more focused on the functionalities of a website such as bulk transactions and tired customer pring, hence they give more attention to the back-end aspects of website design.