CPAs have unique needs for a website. They need something that is simple, yet elegant. A good CPA website will demonstrate the competence of the accounting firm, showcase the various services that the firm provides, but most importantly, establish trust among potential clients. Let’s take a look at some of the things that a CPA website needs in order to attract new clients.
Your Website Should Have a Target Audience In Mind
Obviously, a CPA website should be designed to target new clients, however, there are certain things that should be included on the website to target the right type of people for an organic SEO targeting strategy:
Locations: A CPA website should include cities and regions where the firm wants to attract new clients. A good example would be a regional SEO strategy. In that case, the firm should have state and city pages that address potential clients in those particular regions.
Industries: If a CPA firm does work in the business or corporate area, the website should have a list of industries or a page for each industry. This will help engage website visitors from those particular industries.
Resources: In addition to helping website visitors better understand their tax situation, links to resources to help with basic tax questions will also be helpful in rankings.
Good Page Layout and Navigation Structure
Every website should have a nicely designed page format and good navigation structure. However, for CPA websites these critical site components are even more vital. Here is what every page on a CPA website should have:
A clickable phone number in case a client wants to place a call.
A contact form so that inquiries will be handled quickly.
Business name, address, and phone number.
Readable fonts at the headline and paragraph level.
A color scheme that is easy to read.
For website navigation structure, a good CPA website will include the following pages:
An “About Us” page that tells about the accounting firm.
Staff pages that tell each staff member’s area of expertise and the industries or types of tax situations they can help individual clients with.
A blog to discuss any relevant personal or business income tax issues.
Videos and Image Galleries for CPA Websites
Like on lawyer websites, videos and galleries can be potentially helpful for answering questions and providing information about general tax topics. Many CPA websites utilize YouTube or Vimeo embeds for these purposes. Image galleries are also useful for providing infographics that provide general information. Videos and image galleries should be on an internal page of a CPA website so that they do not impede website speed.
Mobile and Responsive Design for a CPA Website
Next Wave Services, a Charlotte web agency, can also help you with mobile and responsive design for your CPA website. Here are some important things that should be included with the mobile version of a CPA website:
Buttons and elements should be far enough apart and large enough so that they are easily clickable.
The font on the mobile version should be easy to read, but not too large.
The homepage and top-level service pages should be easily navigable.
If a site search is part of the website, it should be easily accessible and usable.
Contact and Conversion Forms
Sometimes, contact and conversion forms are the only way that a website user might interact with their accountant in the day and age of technology. Conversion and contact forms can direct a specific inquiry to the appropriate staff member. Additionally, conversion forms can also be set up to take payments on a CPA website. By taking payments online, a CPA firm can easily charge their consulting fee, take tax forms and documents securely to start processing a person’s taxes, and not have to interact with a client on the phone or in person.
Website SEO For CPAs
The installation of an SEO plugin or app is essential for CPA websites. SEO plugins allow the webmaster and web designer to do things like insert keywords, see how well a page is optimized, and implement structured data markup on the website so that it ranks better in search engines.
A well-designed CPA website will also include well-optimized headlines, title tags, and meta description, as well as alt attributes for images so that Google can detect what keyword it should rank a particular page on the website for.
Other Add Ons for a Good CPA Website
Affiliations are a good thing to include on a CPA website because they establish trust. Some potential affiliations to include on an accounting website are Quickbooks, BBB, AICPA, and Accountant Finder Network. Another good idea for CPA websites is to include a widget or calendar of upcoming important tax dates and deadlines, like April 15th.
Many websites for CPAs have calendars so someone can schedule an appointment with their accountant. Each staff member could potentially have a calendar that lets clients set a session to prepare their taxes for the upcoming season. Live chat is another possible add on for CPA websites. This can help source clients to the right person on staff or ask a general tax question.
Work With a Charlotte Web Designer For Your CPA Website
Next Wave Services is a Charlotte website design agency that specializes in CPA website design. All of our web design packages will help you end up with the right website, whether you do corporate or personal taxes. By working with us, you will have a website that converts well and draws in new clients before and after tax season.