No self-respecting consultancy would dream of operating without a website, but take a look at those on offer and it’s clear that some add more value to a firm’s marketing strategy than others. Here are those that came out top in QS News’ snapshot survey

What makes a good website? Flashy colours and fancy graphics, or clear navigation and constant updates?

QS News undertook its own, admittedly unscientific, research into the matter by looking at a selection of websites through client’s – and jobseeker’s – eyes. We took the top 15 consultancies in terms of quantity surveying staff numbers (according to Building’s top 200 consultants league table), arbitrarily picked a handful of smaller firms and took to the internet to compare their sites in detail.

High on our list of rating criteria was the clarity and extent of the information provided. Clear information, updated project lists, exhaustive contact details and user-friendly location maps got our vote. The popular recruitment pages came under particular scrutiny and were surprisingly varied, given current staff shortages. Next, we looked at the added value factor, such as the depth and transparency of project information provided (did they mention costs, for example?) and the “human touches”, such as key staff photos. Design obviously played a part in our initial impressions, but as this is largely subjective, we didn’t let it hold sway over site content.

Below are the sites that, in our opinion, came out best. But if you have your own thoughts on the best websites in the business, let us know.

Best for talking heads

Bucknall Austin (www.bucknall.com)

Presentation: Welcoming purple and white home page with a lively selection of pictures – clear and entertaining.

Information: No news page, but a very good recruitment page with application closing dates. The contact pages display an office map and photos of the staff, the projects are well illustrated but not sufficiently outlined. If you click on the silhouettes of staff, they give quotes about the company ethos.

Navigation: Good.

Up to date? Recent conference announcement, but no news.

Hits: 1000 a month.

They say: “Increasingly, the website is the main port of call for basic company information. People buy people, so it was not designed as a sales vehicle – it simply had to give a feel for our character and nature.”

Design team: The site was redesigned by consultant ITS Creative last month. Updates are entered by the in-house marketing team.

Best for exclusive access

Faithful & Gould (www.fgould.com)

Presentation: The white background and simple presentation means that nothing detracts your attention from the core information, but the site might benefit from a little more colour.

Information: Important details are all presented well, and there is a good search engine. Clients and employees have access to further information through an exclusive service.

Navigation: Good.

Up to date? Investors information, linked to Atkins, is updated daily. News releases are not dated, but are informative and useful.

Hits: 345,000 a month.

They say: “It provides details on worldwide projects, a searchable database of major sector developments, plus a reference to our services, searchable by industry, sector, service type and location.”

Most popular pages: Careers and lifecycle cost information.

Design team: Recently redesigned by Mercurytide, also responsible for major updates. Day-to-day content is managed by F&G.

Best for case studies

Turner & Townsend (www.turnerandtownsend.com)

Presentation: Sophisticated dark blue background and white boxes. No risks have been taken here, but it is an effective and pleasant website to navigate.

Information: Good careers page, with ads listed according to region, user-friendly links to contact details, and a lot of information on international activity. The case studies are well presented and informative.

Navigation: Good.

Up to date? Yes – last entry was made four days previously.

Number of hits: 12,100 unique visitors a month.

They say: “Initially, the website was introduced purely as a marketing tool to provide information about our activities and locations for clients. Now, the site is used as an interactive knowledge base covering commission wins, the graduate training programme, technical publications and more.”

Most popular page? Career opportunities

Design team: A collaboration between external consultant
Harding Internet and T&T’s business development team – who
also maintain the site.

Best for reports

Gardiner & Theobald (www.gardiner.com)

Presentation: Dark blue background with occasional lines of colours and a few pictures dotted throughout. Simple but effective.

Information: Career vacancies are easily accessible and an interactive map of locations and a history of the company adds interest. Reports on different sectors can be downloaded but project details are a little too succinct and could do with expanding.

Navigation: Good.

Up to date? This month’s news available, without specific date.

Number of hits: 23,000 a month.

They say: “It fulfills the role of notice board for the firm – most clients and visitors look at the site before visiting the office. The latest news about G&T is on the home page – it’s the most up to date marketing portal for the firm. We find it very useful for recruitment.”

Most popular pages? News, careers, locations and intranet.

Design team: The site was redesigned in-house in 2002 and the webmaster is located in New York.

Best for recruitment

Capita Symonds (www.capitasymonds.com)

Presentation: White background, touches of lively colours and good pictures. The site map is easily visible and navigation is excellent.

Information: It has informative project case studies, and vacancies are advertised on the home page with the salary and the closing date. There is also a very useful directory of offices with maps and contact names.

Navigation: Excellent.

Up-to-date? Yes – updated four days previously.

Number of hits: 5500 a month.

They say: “The site’s main function is to provide information on our services, our latest news and recruitment details.”

Most popular pages: Career opportunities on the main website; project management and case studies on the intranet.

Design team: The website is being redeveloped by design company Reading Room, which will also manage it, although Capita Symonds will also have access for updates. The information comes from the firm’s marketing team.

Best for the personal touch and range of reports

EC Harris (www.echarris.com)

Presentation: Simple and elegant in pale grey and white with a few splashes of bright green to add interest.

Information: Excellent – a dedicated client portal with pictures of the firm’s experts along with good contact details. Reports on wide-ranging issues are all clearly presented and the picture library is a praiseworthy addition (but we would say that).

Navigation: Very straightforward.

Up-to-date? Yes – last updated five days previously.

Number of hits: 16,825 a day.

They say: “We aim to provide our clients with a better understanding of our expertise in the provision of consultancy services worldwide, and to position EC Harris as an authoritative voice through our experience, knowledge, research publications and experts.”

Design team: The website was designed in-house (and last redesigned in March 2004); the webmaster liaises with marketing team.

Best for presentation and navigation

Gleeds (www.gleeds.com)

Presentation: A black background, with low-key grey and occasional touches of yellow – the overall effect is understated and informative. Different colours are sympathetically employed to distinguish worldwide locations.

Information: The client list, vacancies, contacts and project database are all clear and useful. Projects briefs are succinct but perfect for an overview and are well illustrated. It’s a shame the cost values are all so “confidential” but there are a lot of useful details that make up for this.

Navigation: Easily the best of the bunch

Up to date? Could do better – last updated 15 days previously.

Hits: 4800 unique visits and 12,000 repeat visits a month

They say: “The new website was developed to create a more international focus, achieved by introducing a three-tier navigation enabling users to visit Gleeds globally, regionally or nationally. The site is translated into French, German, Spanish, Czech, Slovakia, Polish, Hungarian, Arabic and Chinese.”

Design team: It was redesigned in February by Pancentric and is maintained in-house by a webmaster, the marketing staff and worldwide offices.

Our survey says …

The websites listed here had all the elements we were looking for, but the top three stood out because they add extra value as well as fulfilling these basic requirements.

Symonds has easily the most comprehensive career page – salaries and, more importantly, application deadlines, were missing from most sites we looked at. EC Harris’ reports and picture library add an impressive extra level of service, while Gleeds’ design is head and shoulders above the rest. Aesthetic judgement might be a very subjective thing, but how could anyone not agree that Gleeds’ navigation and presentation are of the highest quality? From the services provided, to the colour palette used, it is an almost flawless site and was, for us, unquestionably the winner.

Martin Boswell, a director at Pancentric, the company responsible for the stunning Gleeds design, emphasises the importance of a clear branding. Pancentric, which has worked with the consultant for the last five years, relaunched the global website in February to clean the “little bit of a mess” that had been created by each local branch working independently.

“A year ago, each branch had a very different design and were not all using the Gleeds branding. The key messages which the company was keen on promoting were often lost. Now, the design is consistent throughout the company,” says Boswell. Local markets can still add individuality by translating the global content into their own language and adding their own news.

The winning formula, according to Boswell is to “try to anticipate how each particular audience might want to look at the company” and to “provide people with a fast route to what they’re looking for”, whether that be by sector, geographical location or services.

And, finally, the key to success is keeping the design simple as possible, especially when you’re dealing with a lot of complex information.

Source

QS News