By Ibrey Woodall, VP, Web Communications Services, Business WireMany companies are rapidly performing due diligence to find an IR site hosting partner. If you’re one of these companies and you worry about your IR site – don’t. Review the six simple steps we’ve laid out below, and let Business Wire, and the , guide you through the entire process.

1. Schedule Launch
2. Transfer Content
3. Choose Categories
4. Select Navigation
5. Match design
6. Go Mobile

These steps will help you understand what is involved so that your IR site can be converted quickly and cleanly.

1. Schedule Launch

Anytime you begin a new project, you should visualize the desired end result first, and lay out a structured plan to achieve that outcome. Once we have established your required launch date, Business Wire will provide that plan, including a timeline featuring milestone dates that help us meet the deadline. If your corporate site is in the process of being redesigned, the redesign stage will also be incorporated into the timeline.During this time, you will be trained on the easy-to-use content management system, and advised on best practices for important areas that span a variety of levels. Consultation will encompass the time zone of your IR site so dates and times post accurately, how your site will display in each of the latest web browsers, the importing of your contact database for email distribution, and the security of your content with access levels for individual site administrators.

2. Transfer Content

Depending upon how long your company has been in business, you may or may not have a lot of content residing within your current IR site. All you need to do is let your assigned Business Wire InvestorHQ Product Specialist know which content you want to keep and where you want it located within the new site. Your InvestorHQ Product Specialist will physically move the content for you, expediting the launch of your IR site. If you are creating new content for new features and sections within Business Wire InvestorHQ, just send the content to your InvestorHQ Product Specialist for set up.Not only will all future press releases distributed over Business Wire post automatically into the IR site, but more importantly, the releases will post directly. The distribution of Business Wire press releases and the Business Wire InvestorHQ Investor Center remain within the Business Wire framework, eliminating the need for a third-party wire release aggregator and decreasing the potential of a lost or delayed press release. There are cost-savings, workflow efficiencies and security inherent to using one partner for both services.

3. Choose Categories

Content should be categorized so that it is readily accessible for site visitors. Not only should press releases be available by date, but also by topic or subject matter.  For example, note that CKE Restaurants (https://investor.ckr.com) created categories entitled “Financial Releases,” “CKE,” “Carl’s Jr.,” and “Hardees,” so that their press releases are organized by parent company and brand, yet still allow investors and analysts to locate and access financial releases quickly.Events and presentations should also be categorized even as commonly as “Past Events” and “Future Events,” as displayed on the Jernigan Capital investor center (https://investors.jernigancapital.com/events-calendar) when future dates are available. If your company has multiple events, you may consider fine-tuning with classifications like “Webcasts,” “Board Meeting,” “Analyst Day,” or “Press Conference.”

4. Select Navigation

There are certain types of content, including Analyst Coverage, Stock Charts, SEC Filings, Executive Biographies and additional Corporate Governance documents that should be available within every investor center. Your navigation structure should reflect those content types, and your InvestorHQ Product Specialist will present each of these content types to you and order the navigation in a pattern that best suits your company’s needs.

5. Match Design

Site visitors need to be able to visually trust that the IR site contains official company data. This is done by following the same fonts, colors, spacing and other design elements that reflect the identity of the corporation. It can also be done by using the company’s domain name within the uniform resource locator (URL) similar to https://investors.servicemaster.com/ or https://investor.jalexandersholdings.com/, as well as linking to the IR site from an “Investor Relations” navigation button located on the corporate site. We recommend that the investor center follow the same design as the corporate site, positioning all branding available, even down to the “From” identifier on email alerts and broadcasts.

6. Go Mobile

As mobile usage increases dramatically, it is imperative that sites are easily accessible by a mobile audience. Business Wire offers adaptive-responsive IR websites that are legible when accessed by smartphones and tablets of varying screen sizes.When it comes to news distribution, hosting and consumption, it is worth noting that Business Wire has been around for more than 53 years and provides a multitude of financial disclosure services. Partner with Business Wire and stop worrying about your IR site.

For more great tips and tools visit Tempo, Business Wire’s new platform for white papers, trend reports, videos, and articles.

[author]About the Author: As VP Web Communications Services, Ibrey Woodall is responsible for Business Wire’s web communications services including corporate websites, the NewsHQ Online Newsroom, and the InvestorHQ Investor Center. Ibrey is a published writer and active industry speaker. She holds a B.A. in Mass Communications and a Webmaster certification. She has been involved in launching online newsrooms and investor centers for multiple Fortune 500 companies. She can be reached at Ibrey.Woodall@BusinessWire.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/IbreyWoodall or via Twitter @IbreyWoodall. [/author]