Accountant Website Design
As a freelancer, I find recommendations from other freelancers invaluable when I’m looking for business services. Grabbing a great accountant early on was one of the best decisions I made for my business. When it comes to money, a layperson like me needs things explained in simple terms. That allows me to make financial decisions with confidence. While doing my research, I noticed that accountant website design varies dramatically in its usefulness. A well-designed website creates a welcoming environment which helps visitors understand their needs and guides them to potential solutions.
Like many professional service providers, accountants and bookkeepers need to project a sense of authority. Instilling confidence and trust is key for a professional service. A well-considered, simple and professional-looking website helps too. It presents the face of an accountancy business to current and potential clients. It’s important to invest wisely in creating an informative website that doesn’t overcomplicate or bewilder. After I gathered numerous recommendations for an accountant I created a shortlist. Then I’ll immediately rule out those with confusing or unprofessional-looking websites. I needed to make cuts somewhere, and a lacklustre website rarely leaves me with enough confidence in the final product.
Accountant website design: my approach
When Chris at CKM Accountancy asked me to build his new accountancy and bookkeeping website, it was clear that we needed to create that same feeling of trust for his clients. From our first chats, Chris had a way of explaining all things accountancy that even I understood. His website would be the perfect place to put that clarity to good use. We created a ‘Useful Info’ section for Chris’ ongoing and potential clients as a reference. In it, Chris can add informative and helpful articles himself using the WordPress content management system.
One thing Chris was keen to include on his site was a clear classification of the four different parts of his business: these were accounting and bookkeeping, tax, VAT and payroll. During our discussion, we felt adding this visual categorisation to his articles would be beneficial. The result? A consistent design system across the website that gives visitors a clear indication of the subject matter on each page.
On an accountancy website, or any professional service site for that matter, clear contact methods are vital. CKM’s business phone number and contact form are available on every page, in case a potential client has an urgent question. For those cases where visitors are simply exploring for themselves, I added a search function that highlights relevant entries in the search results. This helps visitors to understand which pages might be the most relevant to their query without needing to read through the entirety of every page.
Creating a visual brand for an accountant
When I first met Chris, his business was operating under a different name. A year or so after we created his initial website, Chris asked me to put together a brand identity package to complement his new business name, CKM Accountancy. He wanted to keep the existing typography and brand colours, but update the logo mark with something more modern and in keeping with the feel of an accountant’s website. I sent Chris three options for his logo mark. He selected the one below as he felt it represented his business as modern, trustworthy and dependable.
Once the logo mark was decided upon, I incorporated it into additional business stationery. This included newly-designed business cards and letterheads for Chris to hand out to his clients.