Websites For Accountants- Internet Marketing Techniques for Your Tax Practice

Websites for accountants say a lot about their companies. Their CPA website is as a rule the first impression that visitors get of a new firm, so when they visit a CPA site having a first-rate design is imperative. Posting a site that looks out-of-date will give the impression that your firm is also obsolete. Ive taken the liberty of compiling some basic ideas to help you honestly appraise your company website. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it will certainly help get you started.

Let the Experts Handle the Design:
If you're not design-savvy, don't build your own website. It's not going to come close to looking like something a professional can build. If you really want to attract clients (or, at the very least, not turn them away when they visit your site) you'll want a website that looks like it was professionally done. It may cost you a lot more initially, but you want something that represents who you are. If your site doesn't look professional then visitors will think that you're not professional. It's really that simple.

Less is More:
Not long ago Flash animation was all the rage in website design. In just a few years this has changed. With HTML 5 Flash is teetering on the brink of obsolescence, and as people become more sophisticated they are becoming less impressed with, and even somewhat annoyed by, gimmicks like animation and sound. Maybe if you're selling heavy-metal music that type of site will still work for you. But every 2-3 years website designs become outdated. Technology changes, but as "simple" sites are coming back into fashion that's not really a big deal at the moment. What really changes are design trends like site layouts and color themes. By keeping your site simple, you're less likely to find yourself needing to review the design every couple of years. You want a website that's easy to navigate so that the user can quickly find what they're looking for. There's no excuse for having old school static menus and hub pages any more. Use "drop down" (or "fly out") navigation instead.

If you can create a home page that isn't text-heavy, and that maybe incorporates some imagery to break up the text, this will be an attractive feature to your visitors. When viewing a website, a viewers attention span isn't very long. You don't need to throw everything at the visitor right there on the home page. Just make them feel comfortable and at home, and let them explore the site as they wish to learn more about you and your firm. Give a brief overview with links that will take the user to other places on your site. Let the visitor decide what's important. This will keep your homepage crisp and clean and substantially reduce your bounce rate.

Make a Splash:
A popular trend in websites today is to use a "splash page" an introduction to your website. This type of page tends to be a bit more on the "flashy" side, with some rotating images. But a splash page doesn't need to have rotating images. The main difference between a splash page and the other pages of your site is that the splash page tends to have a slightly different layout/look/feel to it than the other pages of your site. Splash pages are placed in the index position making it the first page you see when you type in the domain. The function of the page is not to provide information, but to quickly and easily help you find the information you're looking for. They do tend to be a bit showy. This helps capture visitors' attention and display the technical prowess of your firm.

A Look at Color:
The subject of color is pretty subjective. There has been a lot of research conducted on color, and there are a lot of theories about what various colors mean to people. Some people say that red suggest anger, while blues and greens suggest calmness. Personally I don't worry too much about color. Every monitor displays color differently, so rather than worrying about exactly what shade of green to use, I try to find a color that represents your company. Especially if you've already branded your company with a logo and other printed materials, you'll want to make sure that this transitions over to your website as well. If your main company logo colors are green and gray, you probably won't want a red website. Some folks are willing to modify their businesses logo to match a website they particularly care for, but think judiciously before tweaking your branding. It's essential to remain consistent with your current brand. Use your internet presence as an extension of your existent marketing efforts, not a replacement of them.

Kenny Marshall is a consultant and former Officer of CPA Site Solutions, one of the nation's biggest website firms dedicated entirely to websites for accountants.