There is a reliable warning sign in relaunch projects: if colours are being discussed in the second meeting, the sequence is already wrong.
Not because design is unimportant. But because the decisions that determine the commercial impact of a B2B website come earlier. And they are hard to correct once designs exist.
Point 1: The structure reflects the buying process, not the org chart
The most common B2B navigation reads: about us, products, services, references, careers, contact. That is a filing system organised by internal responsibilities.
A prospect thinks differently. They have a problem and ask four questions in a particular order: does this supplier solve my problem? Have they solved it for someone like me? Roughly what does it cost? What happens when I get in touch?
A structure that answers these four questions in this order generates enquiries. In practice this mainly means a dedicated, indexable page per core service and per use case instead of a single “services” page with six paragraphs.
The reason is both content-related and technical. Content-related, because a searcher has to recognise their specific problem. Technical, because a page only ranks reliably for a query if it fully serves exactly one search intent.
Definition
Search intent describes the actual goal behind a search query. Someone looking for a calculation basis does not want a sales page; someone looking for a manufacturer does not want a collection of formulas. A page that tries to do both fulfils neither intent completely.
Point 2: Copy is written in parallel, not at the end
The most common cause of delays in relaunch projects is always the same: the copy is missing.
The usual process has the agency design while the client “supplies the content”. In practice this means someone in the company is expected to write thirty pages of copy alongside their day job. The project then stalls for three months.
More serious than the delay is a second effect: designing with placeholder text produces layouts the actual argument does not fit into. A section planned for three sentences later gets eight, or the argument is cut until it fits the layout.
The alternative: core pages are designed with real copy. This shows early whether the argument holds and avoids the second round of delays.
Point 3: Delivery decides findability
A technical point that is becoming more important: content generated in the browser by JavaScript cannot be read reliably by all crawlers.
For Google this is less critical than it used to be. For many other crawlers, including those of AI assistants, it is not: they execute no JavaScript or only a limited amount. A page whose text only exists once rendered is empty to them.
Since a growing share of B2B research runs through assistants, server-rendered HTML is now a prerequisite for being found.
The most expensive mistake: missing redirects
When visibility drops after a relaunch, design is almost never the reason. It comes down to three things, in this order of frequency:
- Changed URLs without redirects. Every old address that leads to an error loses its rankings and all external links.
- Deleted copy. When design is streamlined, exactly the paragraphs that made a page findable often disappear.
- Merged pages. Three service pages become one. Where three pages used to rank, one now ranks for one term.
All three are avoidable with a redirect plan before migration: a complete list of all existing URLs with their target in the new structure. It takes a few person-days. The cost of not having one is regularly months of lost visibility.
| Risk | Consequence | Countermeasure | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| URLs change without redirects | Ranking loss, dead external links | Complete redirect plan before migration | 1 to 3 days |
| Copy is cut for design reasons | Pages lose findability | Content inventory: what ranks stays | 1 to 2 days |
| Content only via JavaScript | Invisible to some crawlers | Server-rendered HTML | Architecture decision |
| Structure by org chart | Searchers do not find their problem | Site map by buying process | 2 to 4 days |
| Copy only at the end | Delays, layout does not fit the argument | Design with real copy | none, just a different order |
| No follow-up review | Errors go unnoticed for months | Check after 4 weeks: indexing, load time, forms | 0.5 days |
Effort for a medium-sized website (around 30 to 80 pages).
What belongs on the home page
The home page of a B2B website has exactly one job: to make clear within two seconds who the company works for and which problem it solves.
Everything else, such as history, certifications, a location map or a newsroom, can sit below or on separate pages. The most common mistake is a hero that conveys an attitude (“innovation through tradition”) but no information.
A practical test: show the home page to three people outside your industry for five seconds and then ask what the company does and for whom. If the answers differ, the hero is too vague.
A realistic timeline
- Weeks 1 to 2: architecture. Site map, URL structure, mapping of pages to search intent, redirect plan.
- Weeks 2 to 5: design. Core pages at real breakpoints with real copy, plus a component library.
- Weeks 2 to 6: content. In parallel with design. Interviews with departments, copy, image concept.
- Weeks 5 to 10: development. Build, structured data, CMS, accessibility.
- Weeks 10 to 12: launch. Migration with redirects, indexing check, measurement, briefing.
- Week 16: follow-up review. Rankings, load times, form completions, error pages.
Six to twelve weeks is realistic. Projects that take nine months almost always fail on content and rarely on technology.
Summary
- The structure follows the buying process, not the org chart.
- A dedicated, indexable page per core service.
- Copy is written in parallel with design, not afterwards.
- Server-rendered HTML is a prerequisite for being found, including in AI assistants.
- A redirect plan before migration prevents the most expensive relaunch mistake.
- A follow-up review takes place after four weeks.