What the results say:

The index has also revealed the top-performing websites across each industry of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indexes.

Aerospace and defence

Smiths Group Plc.
Senior Plc.
Cobham Plc.
Ultra Electronics Holdings.
QinetiQ Group Plc.

Insurance

RSA Insurance Group.
Aviva Plc.
Hiscox Ltd.
Direct Line Insurance Group Plc.
Sabre Insurance Group Plc.

Finance

ICG Enterprise Trust Plc.
Intermediate Capital Group Plc.
LondonMetric Property Plc.
Law Debenture Corporation.
TR Property Investment Trust Plc.

Food and beverages

Diageo Plc.
Hilton Food Group Plc.
Associated British Foods Plc.
Smurfit Kappa Group Plc.
Britvic Plc.

Healthcare and life sciences

Mediclinic International Plc.
AstraZeneca Plc.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals Plc.
UDG Healthcare Plc.
NMC Health Plc.

Chemicals, mining, oil and gas

Elementis Plc.
Johnson Matthey Plc.
Synthomer Plc.
Croda International Plc.
KAZ Minerals Plc.

Telecoms and technology

Inmarsat Plc.
Spectris Plc.
BT Group Plc.
Oxford Instruments Plc.
Electrocomponents Plc.

Services

Unilever Plc.
Homeserve Plc.
PZ Cussons Plc.
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc.
Network International Holdings.

Property and construction

John Laing Group Plc.
Babcock International Group.
Balfour Beatty Plc.
Marshalls Plc.
Ibstock Plc.

Media and publishing

4imprint Group.
Future Plc.
WPP Plc.
Pearson Plc.
Entertainment One Ltd.

Travel, tourism and leisure

Mitchells & Butlers Plc.
Restaurant Group.
J D Wetherspoon Plc.
FirstGroup Plc.
Cineworld Group Plc.

Manufacturing and logistics

James Fisher & Sons Plc.
Royal Mail Plc.
Clarkson Plc.
IMI Plc.
Diploma Plc.

Software and IT

Just Eat Plc.
Kainos Group Plc.
Avast Plc.
Playtech Plc.
Micro Focus International Plc.

Utilities

SSE Plc.
ContourGlobal Plc.
Telecom Plus Plc.
National Grid.
United Utilities Group Plc.

Retail and grocery

Inchcape Plc.
Kingfisher.
Marks & Spencer Group Plc.
Grafton Group.
Sainsbury (J) Plc.

Why your online presence matters

As part of our work in helping businesses across local government, emergency services, higher education and manufacturing, we advise on the best practices of building, and maintaining, a website and content management system – as well as educating the wider team, beyond developers, in creating content fit for every audience.

According to research by Black Sun in 2017, there was a “widening digital divide between the best and worst” FTSE100 and 250 sites, highlighting that a large portion of companies listed on each index were falling short of the online basics.

There’s no denying that sometimes even the basics are hard to nail down, but here are just a few reasons why accessibility, page speed and performance are so important:

Hub of operations
According to a Salesforce Survey, 85 per cent of customers conduct research before making an online purchase, and among the most-used channels for research are websites (74 per cent) and social media (38 per cent).

If your website user experience lacks performance and accessibility features, then you run the risk of deterring customers. Think of it like this, you wouldn’t leave rubbish blocking aisles in your store, so why do it on your website to someone’s online experience? An effective digital presence can open the door to a wide audience, including those with disabilities who are often marginalised online.
Your homepage is the heart
Black Sun’s study revealed that around a third of FTSE 100 companies do not share what their business does on the homepage.

As we mentioned earlier, confidence is at an all-time low, and customers are cautious about how, and where, they spend their money. So if your website lacks simple, yet vital information about your services – or it is hidden deep within an unnavigable page – it is highly likely the customer may be driven away.

Speed is (almost) everything
As one of the core criteria of this research, the longer a webpage takes to load, the higher its bounce rate will be – according to research from The Aberdeen Group, a 1 second delay reduces customer satisfaction by 16 per cent.

Final thoughts

With the cost of living reaching new heights, businesses must focus on improving and maintaining their website’s performance in order to stay fighting fit.

It’s important to test your website regularly to make sure users can access each avenue of your website’s content, quickly and easily. Fix any stumbling blocks by monitoring your customer’s journeys, then test again – a good CMS will allow you to make amends in real-time and collaborate with your wider team.

Never rest on your laurels when it comes to user experience – customer demands are changing on a daily basis, so regular testing will be hugely beneficial in the long-run enabling you to prepare in advance of new trends.

From our research, we have seen a number of businesses across sectors fall behind with their website’s performance. Some industries in particular, like chemicals, mining, oil and gas are giving their online real estate less focus.

Encouragingly though, there are some sectors leading the way. Media and publishing, for example, a sector which relies heavily on its online presence to deliver news and information to readers, sits top of the league table. Exhibiting the importance of a reliable website, its immediacy, with readers able to access that information, on average, within 4 seconds, is strong.

Big players, slow web pages: FTSE website performance

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