The following key principles should always be considered when planning or developing an investor relations section or corporate website.
- Think of the corporate website as a powerful means of communication and an expression of your brand story rather than a library or archive
- Make a compelling investment case by communicating the company story, its strategy and its role within the sector in which it operates
- Ensure the corporate website is the definitive source of company information
- Keep all of the elements of the website simple, including the address, navigation and use of software tools
- Ensure clarity and openness within the regulatory and legal framework
- Promote the website as a key means of communication. Use the site, with relevant feeds to regularly update investors with the latest corporate developments. This will help develop interest and interaction
- Review site content regularly. Ensure information is timely and, where appropriate, provide a means (date, period to which they relate, scale, significance, etc) so that investors can decide on the relevance to them
- Use audio or video webcasts to provide a wider audience with access to presentations and shareholder meetings. Make this content available in an archive
- Consider webcasts as a means of communicating with investors outside the standard financial calendar. This could include site visits, store tours or the thoughts of senior management on topical issues
- Review the peer websites and those companies identified as the best in their class and benchmark the design and content of the site against them
- Provide qualitative as well as quantitative information to help the website stand out
- Ensure the website is accessible. It must be designed to allow equal access to information and services to all users, including those with visual, hearing, cognitive and motor impairments
- Measure performance and use feedback tools to make improvements to the website
- Behind the scenes, create a simple website framework with a consistent structure. Over time this will reduce cost and allow flexibility to accommodate changes to content and functionality
