How well do websites serve their various audiences?

How well do corporate websites serve the various interest groups that use them? Siemens, BP and Royal Dutch Shell are the top three corporate websites, according to the The FT Bowen Craggs Index which has examined this question. Companies included in the Index are taken from the FT Global 500 2007, ranked by market capitalisation. The top 25 from each of the US, Europe and the rest of the world have been indexed.

The metrics used for the Index are divided into two groups: overall and specific. Within the overall metrics, Construction covers navigation and coherence, Message looks at the visual and content messages the site transmits, while Contact covers both ease of making contact and appropriate use of FAQs. Specific metrics concentrate on how well the site serves each of five distinct groups: society, investors, the media, job seekers and customers. Each metric is sub-divided and the same questions asked of each site.

A key aspect of the study is how companies serve investors, and the study segments investor relations customers into three: investor relations customers into three: analysts/investors who follow the company; analysts/investors wanting to research it and; private shareholders. Individual shareholders should not be ignored, though many companies do and very few take real care of them. There are also a number of companies featured where the IR team takes little notice of the web. Sites that do well serve all of these segments.

The main lessons and findings from the report can be found at www.bowencraggs.com.