Standards
Microsite vs PDF: when each annual report format earns its keep
Boards often ask whether to ship a microsite, a PDF, or both. The answer depends on audience, regulator, and what you want to measure.
The PDF still carries the audit trail and the lodgement record. The microsite carries the audience. Most reporting entities now publish both, and the design question is how to keep them in sync without doubling the budget.
When a PDF is non-negotiable
- Public companies and disclosing entities lodging Form 388 with ASIC.
- Government agencies tabling under Treasurer's Instructions or DTF directions.
- Auditor-signed financial report that must travel as a single signed document.
When a microsite earns the budget
- Member organisations and superannuation funds reporting to a wide retail audience.
- NFPs raising the next funding cycle from donors and partners.
- ASX listed entities running an investor narrative alongside the formal report.
What to measure
Microsite analytics give you something the PDF never will: time on page, scroll depth, country of reader, search-term entry. Wire the microsite to GA4 with custom events on key sections (governance, climate, financial highlights) and you start to see which parts of the story land. That data shapes next year's brief.