Black Sun Plc's research on corporate websites of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 has found that 47% of sites now enable users to share their content through social channels. In exploring how companies are investing in websites fit for the future, the report reveals that a dramatic shift is underway in the ways in which the FTSE is investing in digital technology to connect with shareholders and wider stakeholders.

The report, part of Black Sun's HORIZON series of FTSE research, is entitled Lighting the Way - How companies are investing in websites fit for the future. Now in its fourth edition, the report compares data from year on year, to illuminate how well FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies are exploiting their corporate websites to better communicate their corporate narrative. One key development revealed this year is the continued increase in corporate websites clearly providing archives of webcasts, investor presentations and greater transparency to investors through new technologies, allowing them to 'amplify' the company's activities and corporate story, including:

• 98% of the FTSE 100 and 96% of the FTSE 250 provide access to investor presentation materials
• 84% of the FTSE 100 include an archive of webcasts
• 89% of FTSE 100 companies regularly update their website with recent news stories or press releases

While there have been strong future developments, there are still missed opportunities for FTSE corporate website owners. Our research shows that while more content is being socialised, there is a slight decrease in the frequency of video and image libraries on corporate websites, with the FTSE 100 now scoring 52% (down 9%) and 36% (down 5%) respectively.

In addition to a more robust transparency to shareholders on the corporate website, trends on the rise from last year's results indicate an increase in both news-oriented information and sustainability focused content, both of which are increasingly important to the millennial generation and a wider variety of stakeholders:

• 79% of the FTSE 100 now provide their specific sustainability commitments- this is up a dramatic 20% from 2017
• A robust 69% of the FTSE 100 now include news, think-pieces and blogs to evidence their market leadership. This has increased by 14% from 2017
• 74% of the FTSE 100 publish information relating to stakeholder engagement- up 10% from 2017

 Richard Dixon, Chief Digital Officer at Black Sun, commented:

'This year's data clearly highlights that the website plays an essential role in influencing investors and an increasingly wider stakeholder audience. We have been analysing corporate websites since 2015 and have seen dramatic change in that time. This year we are seeing companies increasingly looking to the future. By this, we mean including more strategic and future-looking content so users are clear on their strategic intent and future prospects, and secondly by investing in ways of using the latest digital techniques to better get their story across. This aligns with the view that companies are seeing their website at the heart of their communications programme - the 'go-to' destination for their corporate story.'

For a copy of the research, please request it here