This report, called The Third Annual Report on The Home Pages of the UK's Top 100 Companies' Corporate Web Sites, studied the Web sites of the members of the FTSE 100 -- the 100 biggest companies listed on the London stock market. It found that a large proportion of this group are failing to give online visitors an acceptable experience.
Interactive Bureau rated each Web site using a range of criteria. This included whether home pages included "must have" elements like news and contact sections, overall site design, navigation and technical performance including speed of loading and cross browser compatibility.
Nineteen of the 100 companies don't even give visitors a brief explanation of their mission or activities on their home page, said Web design company Interactive Bureau, which published the report. A fifth don't display their current share price -- an omission that Interactive Bureau describes as "astounding", while 21 firms don't link to a recruitment section.
Thirty-five of the Web sites assessed don't include a section which meets the basic requirements of the media, while six don't even have contact information available to the public.
This is the third year running that Interactive Bureau has scrutinised the Web sites of FTSE 100 firms, and it appears that some companies are serial offenders. Interactive Bureau warns that these companies appear "not to get it" when it comes to their corporate Web sites.
"Many of these sites have deliberately consumer-focused home pages, which neglect to accommodate their corporate audiences," said Adrian Porter, author of the report. "While we can understand this consumer-bias, when you see the home pages of companies like Shell, Aviva, J Sainsbury and Vodafone it is evident that it is possible to create a page which appeals to, and caters for, both corporate and consumer audiences."
The FTSE 100 firm with the best Web site, according to Interactive Bureau, is Shell. It was followed by National Grid, Pearson, Standard Chartered and Yell Group. The worst-performing firm in the survey was Foreign & Colonial, which propped up Carnival and Provident Financial. All three are new arrivals in the FTSE 100.
While some companies seem to have little interest in altering their Web site at all, others have implemented changes that actually make things worse. Forty-four of the Web sites examined have been redesigned in the last 12 months, but 13 -- in Interactive Bureau's opinion -- are now poorer than before. Nine of the worst-performing 25 firms have not touched their sites in three years.
The publication of this report comes just weeks after another investigation by Interactive Bureau into government Web sites. It found that many government sites are confusing and badly designed, with 60 percent of the most important sites in need of immediate attention.
Key problems include a failure to give citizens a way of getting in touch via the Internet, while some departments are refusing to answer online enquiries because they need personal details.
Both reports can be seen at Interactive Bureau's Web site.
Talkback
I have read this report and find it very interesting that Graeme Wearden has only been able to name 'The good guys'. Why do we as a nation tend to overlook or sweep things under the carpet?
It is a shame when the general public or indeed the workers and the poor investors of these top 100 Companies, are not aware of a situation until it is too late.
The statistics are astounding when on the face of it, a CEO, or a Chairman of the Board have not got their finger on the pulse, and poor Joe Public is unawares of their hard earned savings sometimes going to make huge pay-offs when these Companies fail.
The time has arrived to expose these phonies and poor performers in industry that in this ever changing business world, poor performance will never be rewarded.
The irony of it is, that it is a well known fact that by the year 2010-2012 Companies that are not upto maintaining their businesses on the Worldwide Web are going to go out of business. This is not a falicy but an honest fact.
My suggestion is for a short, shrift, rude awakening,for these companies, to warn people of pending disaster, remove all investment instead of pouring money down the drain, and put money on stocks and companies that have taken the next step toward the future.
And, if the truth hurts it is the only thing that will drag us into the 21st century as a nation.
I wish most sincerly for The United Kingdom to be up there with the leaders in world trade and not the followers of trends, that seems to put companies into oblivion when it can be put RIGHT, here and now.
"The past trends of history have indicated to us and other nations of the world, that COMPLACENCY will lead to DISASTER".
When are we going to learn?