These days, a website is an essential part of any business’s marketing plan. But, it’s not enough to just have a website. You need to have a website that is well-designed, easy to navigate, and visually appealing.
If your website is unattractive or slow to load, you could be missing out on lots of potential clients. In fact, one survey found that 38 percent of users will stop interacting with a site if they don’t like its layout.
If you’re not sure how to go about improving your CPA website design, don’t worry.
Listed below are ten great tips for designing high-quality, eye-catching CPA websites.
1. Choose the Right Colors
One of the most important things to do when you’re designing your CPA website is to make sure you’re using colors that send the right message to your current and potential clients.
The following are some of the best colors for CPA websites:
• Black: Black is connected to seriousness and power; it shows users that you’re reliable.
• Blue: Blue is always good for any professional site, as it conveys trust and power.
• Green: Green is associated with financial success, good health, and longevity.
• White: This is a clean color that’s perfect for CPA firms that want to keep things simple.
All of these are good colors to use for a CPA website. You can also combine two or three of them — black, white, and blue, for example.
2. Emphasize Your Specialty
What is your specialty as a CPA? Do you typically work with clients in a specific field?
If so, make sure people know this as soon as they click on your website.
It’s also important to emphasize the qualities that you and your employees are known for. Whether it’s excellent client retention or a long list of accomplishments, make these accolades apparent to start building trust among potential clients.
3. Organize Your Site with the User in Mind
A well-organized site is essential. Users don’t want to have to hunt for information about you or your services. Think about the questions people ask most frequently and design the website with the answers to those questions in mind.
Include information about services, rates, and business hours and make sure that information is easy to find. Ideally, you’ll create a separate page to answer each of the questions. This is great for SEO, and it also makes it easy for potential clients to find what they need.
4. Create a Blog
A blog helps you boost search engine rankings and gives you an opportunity to separate yourself from your competition while providing current and potential clients with useful information.
Some good types of blog posts to publish on your site include:
• News articles
• Guides
• Interviews and get-to-know-you posts
• Informational, how-to articles
It’s best to post a couple times each week. Be consistent and post on the same days and around the same times.
5. Keep it Simple
It’s rare for people to read every single word on a website. Instead, they typically scan through to look for keywords and sentences that answer their most pressing questions.
Focus on keeping your site simple and clean, and make sure people know where to go when they need more info about your services.
Label pages clearly and break up the text with headings and plenty of white space. Users will appreciate and the simplicity and be more inclined to return to your site in the future.
6. Include a Call-to-Action
What do you want people to do when they visit your website? If you’re like most CPAs, you probably want them to schedule an appointment with you or sign up for a newsletter.
Whatever it is you want them to do, be sure to include a prominent call-to-action button or link that makes it easy for them to do that thing.
Display this call-to-action on every page and make sure it’s easy to find.
7. Make Sure Your Site is Responsive
These days, just about everybody uses a smartphone or tablet as their preferred tool for searching for information.
In order to appeal to these people, you need to make sure your site is responsive and works just as well on a mobile device as it does on a desktop computer. If people can’t reach your site from their mobile device, they’ll be less likely to turn to you when they need a CPA’s help.
Mobile responsiveness also boosts your business’s credibility among search engines and will improve your rankings.
8. Make Content Easy to Read
Whether you’re publishing blog posts or just sharing basic information on your home page, you need to make sure the content on your site is easy to read.
Some basic tips for improving readability include:
• Make sure there’s sufficient contrast between the text and background
• Use a large font size (at least 16 pt)
• Skip script fonts (they’re very hard to read)
• Limit yourself to just 2-3 different fonts (more than that looks cluttered and messy)
Have several different people look at your website to help you decide whether or not it’s easy to read.
9. Use High-Quality Images
Images a great for adding personality to your website and appealing to visitors. Make sure you’re using high-quality photographs, though. If the pictures are blurry or grainy, people are not going to be as impressed or inclined to seek out your services.
It’s also beneficial to invest in premium stock images to elevate your site and separate it from your competition.
10. Test Your Designs Regularly
Finally, make sure you’re testing your website design regularly. This will help you see if it’s yielding the kind of results you’re after.
A/B testing (comparing two versions of the site) helps you see which features and designs people like best. Pay attention to the feedback you get and be willing to make adjustments to better serve your audience.
Need More Help Designing CPA Websites?
These ten design tips ought to be more than enough to get you started, whether you’re revamping your current website or building one from scratch.
If you’re looking for more information on building and designing CPA websites, be sure to check out our web design archives today. We’ve got tons of tips and tricks that will help you set your website apart from your competition.
