I'm persistently stunned at how many accounting sites I see, pretty well coded websites, that fail to satisfactorily target an audience. The very first thing you need to do when you kickoff planning your accounting site design is figure out and focus on the market that will bring in the best return to your company. One of the straight forward precepts that keeps my job enjoyable is that no two CPA businesses are exactly the same. The need to focus on a suitable audience, however, is absolute. There is a rather informal "standard". I use a starting template with this in mind. I need to start with something. But in every case it's necessary to modify the template to suit the business.
Often these changes are pretty minor. The standard template is designed to support a small to mid sized full-service accounting firm that works with individuals and small businesses. This description adequately describes 7 accounting practices in 10. No matter how closely the client conforms to this standard, though, they still need to modify the site by removing services they don't provide and adding staff information.
Some firms have very unusual practices. These tend to be a lot more work, but they're also a lot of fun. There aren't many unusual accounting archetypes I haven't already built websites for, but the diversity of specialty firms continues to surprise me. Construction is a common specialty, and I do a lot of sites that are specialized to non-English speaking populations. Many accounting website designs focus on a particular industry specialty. I've done websites for firms that specialized in hospitality, car dealerships, funeral homes, vineyards, and many others. There's even a fellow out in California with a practice focused on athletes and entertainers.
The very first thing you need to do when you decide to publish your website is identify your target market so you can design it to appeal to this audience. This is actually pretty easy to do. A lot of web designers just don't bother. The big advantage to having an industry specialty is that the client doesn't need to teach you her business. Illustrate this by using common problems the owners of these businesses face as talking points. Let me use my own business as an example. My target audience is accounting firms, so unlike other website providers I increase my support hours during tax season and make it a point to set your account up in such a way that I don't need to contact you between January and April.
A friendly site is much better for conversions than a "l33t" one. An elegant design is fine, but be careful about making it intimidating. People don't like to call people they don't know, and a friendly looking website full of smiling, easy to relate to people will go a long way to easing a prospects natural fear of strangers. Write your content at about a sixth grade level. If your site content is too smart it will leave most small business owners feeling confused, frustrated, or dumb. I'm the best in the business and even my websites need a little work out of the box. You'll notice the templates have lots of pictures of skinny, beautiful people in business suits. Replace them with real pictures of yourself and your staff. The stock photos help me sell websites, but it's much better to have real pictures that people can relate to. It's not a matter of being pretty. All that matters is that you be there. Having some idea who's going to pick up the phone will make people more comfortable calling you.
You must know your target audience first and foremost. Before you even compose a single line of html take the a few moments to work out who your accounting website design will aim at. Add pages that caters to your likely clients. Stay focused on your clients and you'll realize visitors will respond better to your website.
Brian O'Connell is the President and founder of CPA Site Solutions, one of the United States' most successful website businesses dedicated entirely to accounting website design.
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