Industrial- and business-oriented sites are driven by a profit motive. Companies do not exist to pay their employees well, but to derive profit from the goods and/or services they offer. Likewise, business sites should reflect this profit motive and should not exist merely to provide web presence or "esthetic appeal". Consider a business site as a natural extension of trade literature — catalogs and brochures that inform other businesses (or consumers) not only about a company's products, but also about the company itself. A cursory glance at a trade catalog or a business web site should yield three important facts: 1). Name and contact information of the company, 2). What the company does, and 3). Specifications on the products and/or services it provides. Some businesses make the mistake of placing less importance on the second feature and leave potential customers searching for this information, or assuming as such. Business sites should contain this essential information, whether it is in the form of a one-sentence "mission statement", or a separate page devoted to company history (the "About Us" page).
Many businesses have gained valuable experience field-testing site designs and features. There are certain aspects of web pages that tend to be unattractive to potential customers; gratuitous use of animation, scrolling or blinking text, pop-up windows, and splash pages are just a few features generally regarded as nuisances. Web designers for business and scholarly sites have learned that web surfers will regard dark text on a clear, white background as most authoritative, and light text on a black background as artsy and less authoritative. Businesses (legit and not-so-legit) have also learned that customers are more likely to volunteer credit card information on web pages with white or light-colored backgrounds.
Web designers often choose between two approaches to retaining readers: esthetics or legibility. Gray text on a white background is more esthetically appealing than black text, but is harder to read. Backgrounds with deep, saturated colors may be pretty to most surfers, but may be illegible for older people, some of whom have trouble distinguishing subtle contrasts. Smaller print looks better and is more authoritative, but is naturally a hindrance for some readers. Larger print is easier on the eyes, but looses its authority and may even appear amateurish, especially in paragraphs. Good web designers provide both esthetically pleasing and legible web pages.
Best practices that businesses and industries find essential should also be taken into consideration (if not implemented) when designing and coding sites. If you are unsure of a design technique or approach, ask, "what would amazon.com do? Would they use this design?" Look around at web sites with high volumes of both traffic and sales. The designs they use should not be imitated, but should steer you in the right direction.
