How to Keep Your Website Up-to-Date (Without Doing It Yourself)

When you search for a website designer for your CPA firm, pay attention to how they charge. Do they charge a one-time fee? Or do they charge you on a subscription basis, either yearly or monthly?

Here’s why you should pay monthly…

One-time fees might buy you a design only – with no content.

If the website designer charges a one-time fee, it could mean they provide a design only, and don’t act as webmaster. They may build you a beautiful website but with very little or no content. Even if they do populate your site with some articles and information, they probably won’t keep it updated. It will be your job to make changes to the site yourself.

Pay a subscription fee and get more support.

Companies that provide websites for accountants on a subscription basis will usually serve as your webmaster. This means they will keep your content updated and fresh. And a website designer who acts as webmaster is more likely to include a monthly newsletter in your subscription – which is becoming more important.

Monthly is better than yearly.

Website designers who charge on a subscription basis are what you want.  But which type of subscription should you choose – monthly or yearly?

A monthly fee is preferable. Most designers who charge monthly will allow you to cancel your service at any time, with no penalties. If you pay yearly, you may be locked in to the full year, even if you decide to shut down your site.

Watch for hidden fees.

Don't Stay In the Dark Regarding Hidden Fees

Some website providers with low monthly fees might look like a great value – but when you take a closer look, you find they charge for tools you thought were included, or that they leave out certain services altogether.

Read the fine print. Make sure the following important services are part of the base monthly fee:

• emailed newsletter (emailed is critical; a newsletter that’s only available online is largely ineffective)
• enough space in your secure file exchange – at least 250 MB
• enough designs to choose from – at least 100 truly different designs
• customizable pages
• at least 1,000 pages of content; more is better
• free trial period of 30 or 60 days
• ability to add or remove pages
• web hosting and email for your firm

Monthly fee with no setup or design fees? It does exist!

It may sound like a lot, but you can get high-quality websites for accountants for a monthly fee and no setup or design fee.

Don’t settle for a website designer that charges a one-time fee, a yearly fee, or a monthly fee with additional fees for setup, design, or basic tools. Go for the designer who provides all the tools, content, and support your accounting firm needs for one monthly charge.