Qualcomm Developer First: how rebuilding the corporate site around developers produced +540% developer visits
Qualcomm rebuilt qualcomm.com around developers instead of marketers in 2023-2024. The redesign was informed by primary research with 150 developers and changed the entire information architecture of the site. The result: +540% developer visits, +18x software downloads (hundreds to thousands per month), and +228% engaged users. FY revenue for the period was $10.4 billion (+19% YoY). The case is the clearest modern example of a B2B technology company aligning its marketing surface to the actual decision-makers in its market.
- Story: Qualcomm rebuilt qualcomm.com around developers instead of marketers in 2023-2024 (informed by research with 150 developers). Result: +540% developer visits, +18x software downloads, +228% engaged users. FY revenue $10.4B (+19% YoY).
- Why it matters: The central case for developer-first B2B marketing at enterprise scale. Shows that aligning marketing site IA to the buyer’s actual job (developer integration) outperforms marketing-led IA.
- Takeaway: Marketing sites built for buyers don’t serve developers; developers run the integration decision in B2B tech.
- Takeaway: Research with the actual audience (150 developers) is the foundation; assumptions about developer needs are usually wrong.
- Takeaway: Software-download lift is a leading indicator of revenue lift in developer-led categories.
Qualcomm Developer First — the four-step story
Qualcomm Developer First at a glance
Quick facts
Where Qualcomm.com was before the redesign
For years, qualcomm.com was organized like most enterprise B2B corporate sites: products, industries, news, investors, careers. The IA was built around how Qualcomm’s marketing team mentally structured the company — not how Qualcomm’s actual buyers (developers and engineering decision-makers) thought about their jobs.
The structural problem was that developers visiting qualcomm.com couldn't find what they needed quickly. The information they cared about (which chip to use for what application, where the SDK was, how to integrate Qualcomm components into their builds) was buried under marketing-oriented navigation. Many developers gave up and went to forums, third-party blogs, or competitor sites instead. The company's primary digital surface wasn't serving its primary audience.
The redesign
Qualcomm started the project with primary research — qualitative and quantitative work with 150 developers across multiple verticals. The research surfaced specific friction points: navigation that didn't map to developer workflows, product information organized by Qualcomm’s internal divisions rather than by developer use case, software downloads buried multiple levels deep, technical documentation hard to find.
The redesigned site reorganized everything around the developer’s actual job:
- Navigation by use case, not product family. Developers don't think “I need a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8” — they think “I’m building an XR device and I need to figure out which chip platform supports it.” The new IA matched the developer’s mental model, not Qualcomm’s product-line structure.
- Software downloads as primary navigation. SDKs, tools, and technical documentation were elevated from buried-link status to primary-navigation status. Developers could find what they needed in minutes.
- Technical depth without marketing layer. Pages aimed at developers were written for developers, not for executives. The marketing-speak that filled the previous site was stripped out of developer-targeted content.
- Research-validated decisions. Every major IA decision was tested with developers before deployment. The 150-developer research foundation informed dozens of specific design choices, not just the high-level approach.
What grew, and what came with it
Year-over-year, the redesigned qualcomm.com produced +540% developer visits, +18x software downloads (from hundreds to thousands per month), and +228% engaged users. The lifts compounded over the months following launch as more developers discovered the rebuilt site and as Google indexed the new content structure.
The company's FY revenue for the period was $10.4 billion (+19% YoY). The redesign isn't the sole cause of that growth — broader macro factors, product cycles, and other go-to-market initiatives contributed — but the developer-engagement lift is a meaningful leading indicator. Developers who can find what they need quickly are more likely to evaluate, prototype, and integrate Qualcomm components into their builds, which feeds revenue downstream.
What other B2B technology companies could copy
The Qualcomm Developer First approach transfers to other B2B technology companies whose actual decision-makers are developers or engineers. The structural requirements:
- Real developer research. The 150-developer research foundation was the part most companies skip. Skipping it produces redesigns based on internal assumptions about developer needs, which are usually wrong in specific and material ways.
- Willingness to deprioritize marketing narratives. The new IA put developer-needed information ahead of executive-narrative content. Companies unwilling to make that tradeoff end up with hybrid sites that satisfy neither audience.
- Technical depth in content. Pages aimed at developers have to be written for developers. Marketing-tone content on developer pages reads as patronizing and damages trust.
- Sustained investment. The redesign wasn't a one-time launch — it required ongoing investment in technical documentation, SDK quality, and developer-tools infrastructure. Companies that rebuild the IA but don't maintain the technical content lose the engagement gains within months.
How RGM thinks about developer-first B2B marketing
When clients in B2B technology ask about marketing approaches, the first question we ask is whether the actual decision-makers in their market are developers, engineers, or executive buyers. Many clients overestimate the role of executive buyers in their decisions. The correct framing is usually that developers research the options, prototype with a small set of candidates, and then bring an executive a recommendation. The executive approves; the developer decided.
When that framing is right, the Qualcomm Developer First approach is the structural template. Rebuild the digital marketing surface around the developer’s actual job. Do the primary research with real developers, not internal assumptions. Treat technical documentation and SDK access as first-class content, not buried support. Most B2B technology companies haven’t made the shift, which means the companies that do gain a measurable advantage in developer mindshare — which compounds into revenue downstream.
Frequently asked questions
Are the percentage lifts really accurate?
They come from Qualcomm’s own digital-analytics measurement against pre-redesign baselines. The methodology hasn’t been independently audited, so the exact figures should be read as Qualcomm’s internal measurement. The directional truth (the redesign substantially increased developer engagement across multiple metrics) is well supported. The specific percentages reflect a year-over-year comparison after the redesign rolled out.
Did the redesign hurt other audiences (executives, press, investors)?
The redesign deprioritized executive-narrative content in the primary navigation but didn't remove it — it lives in separate sections of the site. Investor and press audiences have dedicated areas of the site that haven't been disrupted. The structural choice was to make developer content the primary navigation experience while preserving other audience-specific surfaces for users who need them.
How long did the redesign take?
The full project including primary research, design, content rewriting, IA restructuring, and technical implementation took the better part of a year. Most large-scale B2B site redesigns take comparable time when done with primary research and content investment. Compressing the timeline usually compromises the research or content quality.
Did Qualcomm hire an agency?
The redesign involved both internal Qualcomm teams (design, content, engineering) and external partners. The specific agency relationships haven't been broadly disclosed publicly. The structural decisions (research methodology, IA philosophy, content approach) were Qualcomm-led; the execution involved both internal and external capabilities.
Could the approach work for smaller companies?
Yes — the principles transfer down-scale. Smaller B2B technology companies can do the 150-developer-research scale at a smaller cost and apply the same IA principles. The structural insight (align the digital marketing surface to the actual decision-makers) doesn't require Qualcomm-scale budgets, just willingness to do the research and make the prioritization tradeoffs.
Sources & references
- Qualcomm (company site) — The redesigned developer-first site.
- Qualcomm investor relations (QCOM) — SEC filings and quarterly reports covering the FY revenue context.
- Qualcomm Developer Network — The developer-specific subdomain that anchors the site's developer-first IA.