CorpComms Magazine

(1) Be confident in your convictions

Having made the decision to overhaul your website, the first step is getting board approval to shake up your web presence. Do your homework, be prepared and anticipate a certain reticence at first, especially if you are recommending a huge leap forward. Take on board their concerns, but hold your ground, remind them that not everyone will use the website in the way that they do. Remind them of the diverse group of visitors to the site who use web as their preferred first point of call for all information.

(2) Mix and match

Don't be afraid to use different agencies for different stages of the project. We selected one to design (SAS), one to build (RE:Media) - the best decision we could have made. Not only were the knowledge base, experience and talent of the project team immediately doubled but the project costs were kept to a minimum with only senior developers assigned to the project ensuring effective work outputs. Websites are such a subjective platform for communication, no two people will use a site in the same way; having a more varied project team, with varied portfolios and experiences, really benefited the process.

(3) Benchmark...

Don't be afraid to benchmark your old site with others out there, you may not appreciate the result (especially if, like us, your site had lain relatively dormant for a number of years) but what it will do is give you inspiration for your new site. I trawled every FTSE 100 website, a handful of FTSE 250 sites and a number of leading international ones which gave me a fantastic understanding of trends in design, content and tools that were invaluable when I sat down to brainstorm the wireframes. It also gave me insight into what worked, areas that people always forget to keep up-to-date and the overall standard out there.

(4) Keep it simple

Don't let the design take over and impact on the visitor's ability to find what they are looking for. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find information because the design is too funky and abstract. We've all been on websites where you struggle to navigate the site and having threatened to throw the computer out the window... you promptly give up and leave the site. A well defined navigational structure will give the visitor clear direction - someone who can quickly get to the information they require is more likely to return to the site.

(5) Make it sound good

It's easy to forget that not everyone has a corporate level of understanding of the company and its operations. Writing for web is very different than writing for print. Visitors are after quick fixes of information so you need to convey the message in a precise and jargon-free style. We decided to incorporate an informal style of writing to aid their ability to cut through the content. The main benefit? Fewer phone calls.

(6) Relate the content

The ability to provide related content across the site is an invaluable aid to any visitor. It is clear that, unless you are conducting a detailed research piece on the company, in which case you will more than likely read every page, you are only heading to the site to find out one or two bits of information at any one time. You may not know or have thought to look at any other areas of the site. Providing related content either through promotional or link boxes will entice the visitor to delve further and get a greater insight into the company.

(7) Get the balance right

How much specialised or interactive functionality should be used? Do you integrate all the latest technology into the site and risk blowing the budget on tools that will very rarely be used? You have to figure out the right balance for your company. There are of course certain sectors that do benefit from a lot of these extras but the rest of us should question the additional spend. We looked at all the options and stuck to the tools that we felt really upped the user experience, such as live search functionality, interactive charts and maps, live glossary functionality and intuitive navigation.

(8) Don't forget the mobile site

Despite the constant evolution of mobiles which allow us the ability to see webpages as you would from your lap/desktop (without having to scroll for hours just to get to the bottom of the homepage) a mobile version of the site is a must. You don't need to replicate every page for a mobile site unless you find yourself with an infinite budget and a lot of patience. But for those visitors who find themselves with older devices who want quick access to a news story, the share price and the financial calendar then the mobile site is an absolute Godsend.

(9) Think about future content management

Getting the right back office is key to the success of the project. Most in-house managers don't have the time or the inclination to HTML code pages to make changes to their sites and end up outsourcing at a cost to time, budget and flexibility. We learned this the hard way last time. We had access to the back office but almost needed a degree in web development to make any changes! This time around our back office has been built to cater for 'non-techies' so that we have full access to the whole site without having to do anything more technical than copy and paste and occasionally insert an image - bliss!

(10) Have fun with it

Our project took nine months and at times threatened to break even the most positive member of the team, but it was incredibly rewarding and, looking back at it now that the site is live and the pain is over, almost fun on occasions! 

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