Websites are more important now than ever as people turn to the Internet for everything from posting pictures of their cat on their favorite social network to finding an accountant. Therefore, it has become essential for accountants to have a strong online presence. When you set out to design a website for your accounting firm, you’ll want to keep a few basic design principles in mind. Following these principles will help you create a site that stands out from the mass of other accounting website

Focus on presenting your information clearly. Some CPA websites are cluttered with spreadsheets, charts, graphs and all sorts of images. Keep the design clean and the information you are trying to present clear. A simple design with a focus on useful information and resources will make you stand out far more than a flashy website that is hard to navigate.

People are coming to CPA websites for information and possibly to seek out the service of an accountant. Make your website easy to navigate. Intuitive navigation is much better than nifty icons that may look cool but are hard to figure out. Chances are good that visitors will move on quickly if they can’t figure out how to navigate through your website with ease.

So now that you understand some basic design principles, you need to understand a little bit about website hosting. There are a lot of different hosting options for CPA firm websites. Take the time to look through the various hosting packages. Evaluate each one based on your needs and decide on the best fit for your accounting firm. Keep in mind that you may want to expand your website, so make sure that there are options for increasing the size of your hosting package.

After selecting a website hosting company, you will need to decide whether you’ll design your accounting site or hire a web designer. If you hire a designer, just make sure that she is open to working with you throughout the design process. Your website will be an extension of you and your accounting firm. Closely work with the designer to make certain that your design is brought to life. Remember the old saying keep it simple (you know the rest)? Well it works for web design too.

Include your contact information in a prominent place on your website. This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many CPA websites are lacking an easy way to get in touch. Often some of the most obvious features on a website are the easiest to overlook. Also, remember to keep your contact info updated once your accounting website goes live.

Once you have your website up and running, you’ll need attract visitors to it. There are many ways to go about driving traffic to your accounting website. A lot of CPA websites use strategic advertising. If you choose to use some sort of advertising, be sure that you use a reputable service. Some services will try to say that they will get you ranked with hundreds of search engines. In reality, there are only 30 to 40 search engines on the net. Perhaps a better approach is to build your search engine ranking by providing users with lots of great content and helpful resources.

Carefully cultivate your online presence as you market your accounting firm’s website. Only work with reputable marketing firms and make sure that they don’t send out unsolicited emails to any of your website users or clients. Unwanted emails can reflect poorly on your professionalism. Make sure that you communicate with your website users and clients personally and in a timely manner. In the long run, you’ll be able to build strong relationships with website users, clients and prospects by maintaining a friendly, interactive and content rich accounting website.

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