Nasdaq and NYSE website considerations should be translated into an issuer-specific publishing plan. The exchange, security, company category, and any available exceptions affect that plan. A generic statement that an IR website is “exchange compliant” is not an adequate specification.
This guide focuses on website implementation for U.S. exchange-listed issuers. It highlights selected provisions, not the full listing requirements. Have the company's advisers confirm the current rules and applicable dates before turning them into release instructions.
Start with the right rulebook
Confirm the listing venue and issuer category. NYSE and NYSE American have separate rulebooks; NYSE's regulation page links to both. [1] Do not apply the NYSE Listed Company Manual to an NYSE American issuer simply because both exchanges use the NYSE name.
Identify whether the company is a domestic issuer, foreign private issuer, controlled company, or another category with relevant provisions. Ask counsel to record the applicable rule, required content, permitted delivery method, deadline, and retention treatment.
That register should become an implementation brief for IR and the website operator. It should also name who will review changes in issuer status or exchange requirements.
Understand Nasdaq annual-report options
Nasdaq Rule 5250(d)(1) provides methods for making the annual report available to shareholders. The website option includes posting on or through the site, a prominent undertaking to provide a free hard copy on request, and a simultaneous press release with specified information. [2]
The website task therefore depends on the method selected. If the company uses the website option, verify the report link, the undertaking, the request route, and the coordinated release. Do not reduce the requirement to “upload the annual report.”
Record the company's chosen process so a later redesign does not remove a necessary statement or contact route.
Plan governance publication with the legal owner
NYSE's Section 303A FAQs describe website availability for applicable committee charters, governance guidelines, and codes of business conduct and ethics. They also discuss transition timing and differences among issuer categories. [3]
Nasdaq Rule 5610 addresses a publicly available code of conduct and specified waiver disclosures; its governance rules include issuer-specific exceptions and alternatives. [4] These provisions should not be treated as identical to NYSE's website-document requirements.
Use the governance content guide to organize the approved documents and version process. The publication checklist should reflect the actual issuer's requirements, not a competitor's menu.
Keep market disclosure and website publication coordinated
Nasdaq's interpretive material warns that posting information on the company website may not, by itself, be sufficient public disclosure. [2] The website operator should receive a clear release instruction within the company's broader disclosure process.
For NYSE issuers, the exchange's corporate-actions and market-watch guidance addresses advance notice and public dissemination for relevant corporate actions. [5] Assign those obligations to the authorized company team and connect the website steps to its instructions.
A website launch, automated filing import, or published news page should not be treated as evidence that all exchange communications have occurred. The SEC filings guide explains the separate roles of filing access and website presentation.
Make the requirements maintainable
For each website obligation, keep the approved text or document, destination URL, owner, posting trigger, and verification evidence. Include any availability or retention period the legal team has identified.
Review this register before an IPO, exchange transfer, transaction, or redesign. The IPO planning guide helps bring the work into the launch schedule. Check the current official rulebook and exchange guidance again when implementing a material change.
Questions companies ask
Is there one Nasdaq and NYSE website checklist?
No. A shared operational checklist can help, but the requirements register must distinguish the applicable exchange and issuer category.
Does a website provider determine exemptions?
The issuer and its advisers should make that determination. The provider implements the approved publication and maintenance instructions.
Is an annual-report PDF by itself enough?
That depends on the chosen delivery method and applicable rules. Nasdaq's website option, for example, includes additional conditions described above.
What should be checked after a redesign?
Confirm that required documents, statements, request channels, links, and retention arrangements remain available in the approved form.
Give VendorGroup the issuer-specific register alongside the design brief, so website delivery reflects the company's actual publication responsibilities.
Related VendorGroup resources
- Preparing an Investor Relations Website for an IPO
- SEC Filings and Investor Relations Websites: What Companies Should Know
- Corporate Governance Content for Investor Relations Websites
