A business portfolio rarely stays tidy by itself. New ideas appear, older projects reach the end of their active life, and a service can change shape without the parent website catching up.
That creates a simple problem for visitors. They cannot tell what they can use now, what belongs to the business’s history, or what is still being worked on. A clear status label fixes much of that confusion before somebody clicks, calls or sends an enquiry.
MightyGroupUK uses this distinction on its current website. The Our Brands page presents four current ventures as live. The Our Story page keeps earlier ecommerce, online-service and personals ventures in the history rather than placing them beside today’s active brands. The detail is specific to MightyGroupUK, but the publishing habit is useful for any organisation with a mixed business portfolio.
Use status words that answer a real question
A status label should tell the reader whether they can act on the information today. Three plain labels cover most situations.
Live
Use live when the project, service or brand is genuinely current and the linked information is maintained. Its page should explain who it is for, what it currently does and where the reader can check the latest detail or make contact.
Live should not mean that a name still has a page somewhere. It should mean there is a current proposition behind the label and an appropriate route for the next step.
Historical
Use historical when a project still matters to the story but is no longer presented as a current offer. A historical entry can explain what the work involved, what the organisation learned and how it influenced later activity.
It should not keep an old sales message, sign-up button or contact promise that makes the project look active. History is useful context. It does not need to pretend to be a service.
In development
Use in development when work is genuinely under way but the public cannot yet rely on a finished offer. The wording should separate what has been decided from what remains provisional.
A name, early design or working prototype does not prove a launch date, full feature set, price or availability. If those details are not settled and supported, leave them out. A short honest description is better than a polished promise that may have to be withdrawn later.
Put the status where people make decisions
A label hidden in a long article will not correct a confident claim on a portfolio card. The status needs to appear wherever a visitor is likely to decide what the project is.
- On the parent portfolio page, place the status beside the project name.
- In navigation and call-to-action text, send live enquiries to a maintained destination.
- On an older project page, state clearly that the page is historical before describing the past work.
- For work in development, repeat the provisional status near any form that invites interest.
The wording does not have to dominate the design. It does need to be visible before the reader reaches a conclusion that the rest of the page cannot support.
Keep the claim in proportion to the evidence
Portfolio copy often becomes inaccurate through small upgrades in language. An idea becomes a project. A project becomes a platform. A private test becomes a launch. None of those changes looks dramatic while somebody is editing a sentence, but each one gives the reader a different impression.
Choose the most accurate term you can prove now. If the work is a concept, call it a concept. If a prototype exists, explain what has actually been tested without presenting it as a finished service. If a live offer changes, update the parent summary and the specialist page together.
This is also consistent with the current CAP Code section on misleading advertising. It says marketing communications must not materially mislead, must not omit material information, and should have documentary evidence for objective claims that can be substantiated. The Code applies in context, so businesses should use the official guidance and take appropriate advice rather than treating a portfolio checklist as legal guidance.
Give each status a maintenance rule
Status labels only help if somebody reviews them. A lightweight rule is enough for many small portfolios.
Review a live entry when its service page, audience, contact route or availability changes. Review an in-development entry when a decision becomes public, a proposed date changes or work stops. Review a historical entry when it still attracts enquiries that suggest readers have misunderstood it.
The parent page and the linked specialist page should agree. If one says live while the other says coming soon, the visitor has to guess which version is current.
A short check before publishing
- Can a visitor use or enquire about this today?
- Does the linked page support the status shown on the portfolio?
- Are dates, features, availability and results backed by current evidence?
- Could an older project be mistaken for a current offer?
- Would a reasonable reader know which details are provisional?
- Is there somebody responsible for reviewing the wording when the status changes?
If any answer is unclear, fix the label or reduce the claim before adding more copy.
Clarity is more useful than a crowded portfolio
A mixed business portfolio does not need every idea to look equally active. Current work needs a clear route. Historical work needs honest context. Work in development needs room to change without misleading the people reading about it.
For MightyGroupUK, the current position is set out on Our Brands, with earlier ventures kept in Our Story. If an enquiry crosses those boundaries or does not have an obvious home, the MightyGroupUK contact page provides the group-level route.