WEB DESIGN TIPS FOR ACCOUNTING FIRMS

Accounting Firm Web Design Tips

• Calculators: Many accounting firms have calculators on their sites. These can calculate anything from estimated taxes to payroll estimates. Calculators are helpful because potential clients feel your firm is already helping them. They may also be more likely to come back to the page on a regular basis, further familiarizing themselves with your firm.
• Personal images: Finance is an industry that can be seen as cold or remote. Warming up your website with personal images of your team members can have a positive effect on prospects. They also add a sense of genuineness.
• Testimonials: If you already have excellent testimonials from happy clients, there’s every reason to add them to your web design. Potential clients will read these testimonials and take them to heart. You can have an even bigger impact with video testimonials, if your current clients are willing.
• Awards and credentials: There’s nothing like an award or a credential to improve your standings in the eyes of future clients. No matter what your honor is in, you should place it front and center on your website. Don’t hide accolades, especially those from industry leaders or community organizations.
• Corporate blog: A corporate blog will allow you to share your expertise with the world and keep your search engine optimization (SEO) strong. If you’re not sure what you want to write in your blog, think about the discussions you frequently have with clients. Are there constant topics that come up? Those should provide fodder for your blog post subjects.
• Simple navigation: Your prospective clients should be able to find out what your accounting firm does and how it is different from other firms in the area. A simple, streamlined navigation will assist potential clients in making discoveries.
• Call-to-action: What do you want your website visitors to do? Add their names to a subscriber list? Pick up the phone and call you? Fill out a contact form? Send an email? These are all call-to-actions (CTAs), and they should be easy to see. They’ll help most visitors through your preferred sales funnel.
• Subscriber sign-up: Do you have an email marketing campaign? Are you trying to build a subscriber list? Be certain to have a sign-up form that’s highly visible. Don’t ask for too much information, though. Just get the details you need to send prospects valuable information.
• Client access portal: Your accounting firm may want to have a special client log-in area so you can maintain a personalized relationship online. If this is part of your philosophy of working with individuals and/or businesses, don’t hide the log-in link. Making it tough to find will annoy clients.
• Premium content: Since you will be working with money, it is essential your content be of the highest quality. If you have to hire someone else to write it for you, that’s fine. You can put your final acceptance on it after making sure it meets legal compliance and regulations.

When you have a well-designed accounting firm website, you’ll feel better about three things:

1. That you have a presence on the Internet, just like your competitors.
2. That there’s a simple way for people to find you and for you to build your brand.
3. That you’re laying the foundation for smart SEO and other marketing strategies.

Having a great web design will help you stand out from the competition and create the brand identity you want online — which will help your clients find you.