A Simple Rubric for Choosing Your Next IR Site Provider

When you partner with an IR site provider, you have to have a lot of trust in this company. After all, your investor relations website is one of the most important shareholder-facing tools you have at your disposal. It’s the number one resource for curious investors and members of the media who want to learn about your brand, and what they see there determines their investment decisions.

With so much on the line, you need to find an IR site provider who delivers all the essentials of an investor relations focused website in the time you need it. Consider these features carefully to help you make your decision. Here’s what you should expect from an IR site provider:

Scalability

An established IR firm has the power to tailor its services to reflect your brand’s journey. From your IPO to your official listing on global exchanges and beyond — the best IR firm provides flexible site design that reflects your evolving needs. Whether you’re a nano-cap company or a mega-cap corporation, this scalability remains an important feature of your site provider.

Security

Site security is an essential feature of your investor relations strategy. Global regulating bodies enforce strict security standards that you must satisfy. Failure to comply here could levy your brand with a significant fine.

Worse yet, poor site security can leave investor data and proprietary information vulnerable to attacks. Exposure of this critical info would cast doubt on your entire company, damaging your reputation on the Street.

A data breach has a direct impact on your stocks. Research shows the average share price of a compromised company fell by -3.5% after 110 days of a breach. After three years, it compounds to -15.6%.

To protect your reputation and value, ensure your IR partner has the appropriate technical infrastructure and data-handling processes. They should boast SOC 2 Type II and ISO certification. They should undergo regular audits and penetration tests to ensure their security controls stand up to attacks.

IR Expertise

You should be able to lean on your partner, trusting them as consultants on everything investor relations. They should help you craft an IR narrative that clearly defines your value proposition to visitors. They should know all the IR website best practices inside and out.

Design Library

Before investors can even read your story and evaluate your value proposition, they’ll make a split-second judgement about your brand based on your site’s design. Any unusual design choices, glitches, or issues with navigation will dock significant points from your company.

Your partner should marry creativity with functionality, offering sophisticated designs that support flawless user experience. They should provide an extensive portfolio of award-winning designs from which you can choose.

Accessibility

Beautiful design should effortlessly support accessible browsing for investors with disabilities — whether they be cognitive, motor control, visual, or hearing. Your partner should offer sites that meet all WCAG and ADA compliance requirements.

Beyond the discourse surrounding disabilities, you should also ask your IR site provider about how accessible your website will be for mobile users. Mobile browsing makes up nearly 60% of all Internet activity, so there’s a good chance prospective investors visit your site on their phone. You want to ensure a seamless experience from this gadget, one that transitions smoothly to desktop if they switch devices.

Engagement Analytics

Lastly, you want an IR site that drives user behavior and collects engagement metrics from online activity. These metrics help you identify investors who are ready for outreach and targeting.

Consider this a rubric to follow when you search for a new IR site provider. By ensuring your partner checks all the boxes, you can trust they’ll deliver a website that impresses your investors.