Good work.
If I were sitting down with you to plan an accounting or bookkeeping website, I’d start with one question: what should a good prospective client understand before they contact you?
That answer matters more than the number of pages or the color of the buttons. Someone may have found you through a referral, a local search, or a recommendation from another business owner. Your website is their chance to decide whether you are the right person to help.
An accountant or bookkeeper’s website should explain who you help, what you offer, why someone can trust you, and how to take the next step. It should also give existing clients a clear route to the tools they already use.
Start with the kind of client you actually want
“We provide financial solutions” leaves a visitor with work to do. “Monthly bookkeeping for contractors and service businesses” gives them something they can recognize.
Write down your three most useful facts: the people you help, the problem you handle, and what happens next. A bookkeeper might focus on keeping the books current or cleaning up overdue records. An accounting practice might offer business tax preparation, planning, or advisory work. Use the services and credentials you actually provide.
These businesses can overlap, but the website should explain the differences. Don’t let a visitor assume that monthly bookkeeping includes filing their tax return if it doesn’t.
A real example: what the YMS homepage gets right
I designed the YMS Bookkeeping website for Yvette Shaw. This is real bookkeeping work, rather than a sample accounting firm. Look at the homepage below with a prospective client’s questions in mind.
- Who is this for? The introduction names business types and the help available. A visitor can begin judging fit.
- Who will I work with? The real team is visible. That gives the business a human face.
- Why should I trust them? Relevant experience and certifications sit near the main message. Your website should show your own accurate qualifications.
- What do I do next? The inquiry button is easy to find. The services link gives someone who needs more detail another useful route.
You don’t need to copy this layout. You need those questions answered in a way that fits your practice. See Yvette’s before-and-after story for more of the project.
Choose pages around decisions, rather than a page count
A small, focused practice may be able to explain its offer on one good homepage. A practice with several services usually needs more room.
- Home: help a new visitor recognize fit and choose a next step.
- Services: explain the differences between your offers, who each suits, and how to begin.
- About: show the people, experience, and approach behind the business.
- Process: explain what happens after an inquiry and what a new client should expect.
- Contact: make asking a question or booking a conversation straightforward.
Treat that as a starting point. If business tax and individual tax work need separate explanations, those may deserve their own pages. If your process takes two short paragraphs, it may fit on another page.
A useful test: can you explain what decision each page helps someone make? If you can’t, it may not need to be a separate page.
Give new visitors and existing clients different routes
A prospective client needs to ask whether you can help. An existing client may need their portal, booking page, or instructions. Make both routes easy to recognize.
Keep the first inquiry short. Ask about the type of help needed, the business, and how to get in touch. A booking link can work well when you prefer a conversation first.
Your public inquiry form is not the place to collect detailed financial documents. Direct clients to your established secure process when it is time to share records. For tax practices, the IRS client-data protection resources provide further guidance. Agree with your designer on which tools the website will link to and which connections need additional work.
Test your current website with someone who doesn’t know you
Open your homepage on a phone and ask someone outside your business to look at it. Give them a minute, then ask:
- Who do you think this business helps?
- Which service would you choose if you needed monthly help?
- What makes you feel comfortable contacting them?
- Can you find the next step without searching around?
- If you were already a client, where would you go?
Listen for hesitation. If they describe your services incorrectly, revisit the wording. If they can’t find the contact button, revisit the route. You may need clearer copy and a few layout changes rather than a complete rebuild.
My five-question homepage checklist gives you another way to run that review.
What should you ask a website designer before hiring them?
- What is included in the price? Get the page count, copy help, forms, revisions, and launch work in writing.
- What will I pay after launch? Ask about hosting, maintenance, software renewals, and any ongoing content or search work.
- Who controls the website and domain? Confirm account access, ownership, and what happens if you move to another provider.
- What happens to my existing pages? Identify useful addresses and links that need to stay or redirect during a redesign.
- Who checks professional claims? You should approve your services, credentials, and advice before publication.
- How will we know it is working? Agree on tracking inquiries and their sources, along with who will review that information.
Compare the complete first-year cost and scope, rather than the headline price alone. A low monthly price and a one-time build can include very different things. Ask what you will receive and what you will still need to arrange.
After launch, look at inquiries as well as visits
A traffic chart can tell you people arrived. It won’t tell you whether the right people understood your offer or became clients.
Start with a simple record of inquiries: where the person found you, what they needed, and whether the conversation was a good fit. Website analytics can help connect visits and contact actions to sources such as Google or an email campaign. Ask people directly too; tracking will not capture every journey.
Use what you learn to improve the site. Repeated questions may point to a missing explanation. Inquiries for work you don’t offer may mean the wording needs to be clearer.
Want to see a direction for your own practice?
I work directly with small business owners to bring the message and design together. See my approach to website design for accountants or websites for bookkeepers.
If you’d like to see what I have in mind for your business, request a free homepage preview. Tell me who you help, the services you want to focus on, and what is getting in the way on your current website.
