Reasons to believe:
Building trust through the corporate website

The growing emphasis on transparency means a credible and accessible website has never been so important in offering stakeholders a reason to believe in and support organisations. Michal Kendereski, Digital Director, Luminous, explains.

The corporate landscape is changing fast. The political environment has been in flux. The Edelman Trust Barometer goes as far as labelling the UK as the ‘Disunited Kingdom’, such is the level of discord uncovered by its research. 

But encouraging trends are emerging in the corporate sector, with widespread agreement in the ability of business to lead the way to improved reputation. The journey starts with more credible communications and meaningful stakeholder engagement. And the key showcase for this is the corporate website.

So how can you tell if your website is effective? How do you know if you are reaching your stakeholder audience or that your story will be perceived as authentic? There are some simple strategies that should be adopted to help create a credible and accessible corporate website.

Content is king

To quote user experience guru Jakob Nielsen, “Ultimately, users visit your website for its content. Everything else is just the backdrop.” One of the quickest ways to lose users and create a poor experience is to have bad content. Your site needs to build trust by communicating why your business exists; how it is tackling key issues of concern to stakeholders, such as climate change or gender diversity; what makes you different and how you are creating value. Make sure your content is up to date, timely and fresh, with the new information clearly highlighted.

Meet the needs of all stakeholders

A corporate website needs to consider the needs of all its users. In fact, the site is the one place where all stakeholders converge. For example, potential investors need to be able to gain a clear and accurate picture of a business, while existing investors need to be able to find information easily and quickly. 

Sustainability professionals want sustainability performance data and targets, updates on the types of sustainability activity the company is engaged in, company policies on key topics and an archive of reports. 

Potential employees need to get a feel for the company culture, work environment and opportunities along with understanding the recruitment process and signing up to job alerts.

Mapping out each group and what they need will allow you to develop the right content and journey for each stakeholder.  

It’s all about the experience 

Any website should be easy to navigate, but with a time-poor audience it is even more vital for corporate websites to provide an intuitive experience. A poorly designed website confuses, frustrates and ultimately results in a high bounce rate. Most users decide whether or not they like a website in the first few seconds, often with a simple glance at the initial visible screen. As you know what users are going to look at, aim to optimise this area and then take the user on a clear narrative journey. Focus on guiding users through the company story and delivering an uncluttered experience to capture attention. 

Tell moving stories

Embrace fresh ways to tell your story, such as through moving image or animation. Film content impacts organic performance more than any other asset that can be displayed on a web page. In today’s online world, film has become an integral step in the user journey. Research shows that films up to two minutes long enjoy the most engagement, so remember to be focused and prioritise the key messages you want to convey. 

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