One page Annual Report Microsite
A one page annual report microsite provides a highly engaging, ‘interactive’ summary of an annual report. They help top-level data and the year’s highlights ‘come to life’.
Using mobile-first design and build, a one-page, scrollable website offers a more enriched user experience at a reasonably low cost.
The first step is to design how the page will look, drawing from the design of the main report. Typography, illustration and photography should be repurposed to fit the digital format.
The design should embrace the landscape format and use a single column of text. Accessibility and legibility should be at the forefront of any design.
Content should be edited down to the bare minimum, bearing in mind users are unlikely to read large sections of text. The less text, the better. We will link a PDF of the full report for users to download so that they can view the full report should they wish to.
Concentrate on the year’s highlights, top-level data, and quotes from the CEO rather than full statements.
You can think of the structure as more akin to a PowerPoint presentation where the slides are stacked on top of each other. The page structure is best considered as a stack of sections that the user scrolls down to view.
The structure and design will break up sections with images, pull-out quotes and facts to make the experience more engaging.
We will animate images, text, charts and diagrams or embed videos to create a rich user experience.
Financial statements should not be included in the design although top-level figures, particularly in the form of highlights, infographics or charts make visually appealing components and can quickly communicate the organisation’s achievements.
Early engagement with an organisation’s IT department will help smooth the project workflow. There will be some technical issues that need to be addressed and it is best to begin the dialogue with the in-house team as early as possible to avoid delays in the launch.
We understand the potential problems and if we can engage with the IT team early on, we can put in place the processes to mitigate any issues. These might be:
Purchase or set up of a sub-domain, eg: annualreport-client.com
Hosting the microsite
Security issues
Updates, if applicable
Code hand over
Let us engage with the team at the earliest opportunity and we will work together to remove any barriers.
Once the editorial work has been done and the design framework has been agreed, we will build out the microsite on our test servers. One page annual report microsites tend not to have their own CMS unless you decide to use a proprietary platform like SquareSpace or Shorthand. With good planning and an agreed design and content, taking an annual report online to deliver a microsite should be a quick and relatively painless experience. One that takes your reporting to another level.
Lastly, a note on value. In comparison to a printed or PDF digital report, the cost is relatively low and a micro site offers the ability to establish a framework that can be built year-on-year.
Eventually, online reporting will become the norm and an annual report microsite is the first step towards stakeholder reporting’s future.