Which industries on the FTSE have the best-performing websites in 2023? You might be surprised
In its annual "Big Players, Slow Web Pages" campaign, Zengenti – the company behind Contensis CMS – analyzed all FTSE 100 and 250 homepages to determine which industries and organizations had the best online performance. Find out who the winners and the laggards are for 2023.
“I feel the need… the need for speed…”
It's not easy earning “Top Gun” status in the website performance game. But Zengenti, the pilots behind Contensis CMS, know exactly which industries and organizations flew higher – and faster – in 2023.
The company just rolled out its annual “Big Players, Slow Web Pages” campaign, which analyzed all FTSE 100 and 250 homepages to determine which industries and organizations had the best online presence this year – and which lagged.
But there's more to it than speed, Maverick. Zengenti's rubric also included the average accessibility score, providing a well-rounded review of the overall “flight performance” of each contender.
So who has bragging rights in this year's showdown? Strap in – and keep reading.
Utilities rise while media falls
In a dramatic swing from last year's rankings, Zengenti's research shows that the Utilities sector delivered the best website performance across the FTSE 100 and 250 sites, climbing 12 places with an overall score of 269.
That's a big shift from 2022, when Media and Publishing took the top spot. This year, the former leader fell 14 places, putting it in the bottom three of 2023’s rankings with an overall score of 234.
Despite the major swap for the crown, the race at the top was tight – with Utilities narrowly outperforming the Sports and Entertainment industry in second place with a score of 268, and the Food and Beverage sector in third with a score of 261.
How was the research conducted?
For this year's website performance analysis, the Zengenti team examined the overall performance, accessibility, and speed scores for each of the FTSE 100 and 250 companies. The results were tabulated and averages were calculated for each sector.
The complete list of the performance results based on industry can be found in the league table below. Click here for more details:
The urgency to improve website performance, speed, and accessibility
“This research shows how important it is to pay attention to and maintain your business’ website performance," said Richard Chivers, co-founder of Contensis and chief executive officer of Zengenti. “Last year, Media and Publishing topped the list, yet the industry has fallen a staggering 14 places to the bottom three in this year’s ranking.”
As Chivers noted, if a company's website doesn't load quickly or is inaccessible, it will inevitably lose engagement and sales – and the lack of performance can potentially damage a brand or organization's reputation in the process. For FTSE 100 and 250 companies, this could have a critical impact.
But getting things right isn't just important for business performance – it's also key to delivering digital equality for all users.
“At Zengenti, we’ve always been a big advocate for improving online accessibility,” Chivers explained. “We work closely with the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) to ensure our clients’ sites meet and go beyond accessibility requirements.”
According to Chivers, the company's research shows that many industries still have significant room for improvement, specifically around accessibility. One in particular that he pointed out: Travel, Hospitality and Leisure, which scored near the bottom of the pack. With the DAC revealing that 90% of disabled users click away from a website rather than report accessibility issues in 2023, he said there's no excuse not to improve.
“As leaders in their sectors, FTSE 100 and 250 companies have a real opportunity to lead the conversation and ensure online accessibility becomes an integral part of website performance in every industry.”
You can learn more about the importance of online accessibility and view the top five FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 performers on the company's website.
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