How do we make our corporate website more human?

A more human corporate website should help visitors understand the business, not introduce another layer between them and the information they need. For a growing group, that means explaining what the company does, how its businesses fit together and where visitors can find strategy, leadership and financial information.

The Ardonagh Group's website combined those practical requirements with a more personal presentation. Its structure included sections explaining the business, introducing the executive team, sharing news, providing investor financial information and organising the portfolio by sector. Photography featuring real Ardonagh people in action brought the group's entrepreneurial character into that structure.

The Financial Reporting Council's 2025/26 corporate-reporting review identifies business model, strategy, risks and financial resilience as information that helps investors understand an organisation. Keep those requirements central. People-led content can give the business context, but should not substitute for a clear explanation of its model and direction.

Human presentation is more useful when it explains what people actually do. Show the relationship between their work, the company's capabilities and the people who benefit, rather than relying on portraits alongside broad claims about values.

IBM's storytelling programme translated complex case studies and technical materials into concise stories connecting its innovations with familiar objects, places and experiences. Employees received material they could understand and share across a dedicated website, social channels and internal communications. The approach made technical contributions easier to explain in everyday terms.

For UST's film about Nourish + Bloom Market, the narrative centred on founders Jilea and Jamie Hemmings, their family, suppliers, employees, customers and UST's experts. Participants described the store's impact in their own words. These examples offer a practical distinction: authentic stories have identifiable people, specific actions and a clear connection to the business, rather than a human appearance alone.

A website can become more personal without demonstrating that investors or employees understand the business better. The Ardonagh Group project describes a design approach and an ambition to re-engage both audiences, but does not report a controlled comparison or measured engagement improvement.

Recruitment findings also need careful boundaries. A 2026 academic study involving LinkedIn users in Germany found that perceived employee-ambassador credibility, authenticity and similarity influenced employer attractiveness. It examined fictional profiles, not investor understanding or existing employees' use of a corporate website.

To assess a proposed change, compare human-led and factual presentations while keeping navigation, visual quality and information completeness unchanged. Ask investors to explain the business model and strategy and locate relevant financial information. Assess current employees separately, including whether public website content helps them understand company direction. Leadership dialogue, listening and regular internal updates remain distinct communication practices, not outcomes a website redesign can be assumed to deliver.