Your accounting firm’s website is, in many cases, the first introduction a potential client will have to your business. As such, your website should adequately illustrate your brand and your service offerings. You might be thinking, “Well, that’s simple. I know who we are as a business and what we offer.” But while communicating those things might be easy face-to-face, website design produces a host of new challenges and obstacles to getting your message across.

Whether you’re designing your firm’s first website or doing an overhaul of an existing one, here are 7 essential features of a business website that you shouldn’t overlook.

User-Friendliness

Above all else, your website should be easy to use. How many times have you exited out of a site because it was too confusing to navigate? In this fast-paced day and age, people don’t have the patience to click through endless pages to find the information they’re looking for. As you’re creating your website, try to imagine you are a first-time visitor trying to navigate it.

Mobile Compatibility

Most web surfing these days doesn’t happen on a desktop. It happens on our phones. That’s why, when you’re designing your firm’s website, you want to make sure that it is well optimized for mobile devices.

Clear Service Offerings

At the end of the day, you are trying to sell potential clients your services… So what are those services? Your website should communicate what you offer clearly. This means communicating in plain English and avoiding vagueness. You should outline what problems your firm is here to help clients solve.

Reviews and Case Studies

Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to get the word out about your business — and you can utilize this strategy in your web design too. Potential clients don’t just want to hear your marketing pitch; they want to hear from people like themselves who have used your services and benefited.

Content

Content marketing is a great way to show potential clients that you are knowledgeable in your field. This can include blogs, guides, free downloads, and even videos. This will also help drive up the amount of time a visitor will spend on your website, and make it easier for them to find you through search engines.

Contact Information

Perhaps the most important bit of information your website should contain is how to reach you. This information should be easy to find. It can even be a good idea to include your address and phone number on every single page of your website. You can also make it easy to reach you through forms they can fill out directly through your website.

Security

Potential clients want to know that your business is one they can trust. This trust starts building long before you draft the engagement letter. From their very first interactions with your business online, they should feel that their information is safe and secure.

A good online presence can help take your business to the next level, allowing you to find new clients and attain a more professional look. Interested in delving into content marketing for your website? Check out our guide on how to get started!