I’ve been looking over a few financial planner’s websites over the past couple of weeks. Some were very basic sites that had been set up a while ago and never updated. Others looked great – lots of nice pictures and animation, but didn’t say much.  Some sites were very basic in their look, yet provided a lot of good information.

What does your website say about your business?

Does it show your visitors that you’re up to date with the latest trends? Or does it show them that your website is not a big priority for your business?

There’s a myth when it comes to websites that says that you must have a fancy looking site. This is wrong. I’ve seen plenty of good looking sites that have very little content. Whilst they look great, there’s no reason to return. On the other hand, I see lots of average looking sites that contain great information. In my opinion, these will always triumph over a fancy design.

So, what are some essentials for your financial planning website?

Make it easy to navigate.

I was looking at a site today, that was very hard to navigate. It was difficult to work out where to go to on the site, and it was hard to get back to the homepage.

On your financial planning website, make sure you have a range of navigation options across either the top of the page or the left hand side of your page. Make these titles large so you can read them and make sure they are descriptive enough so that the visitor knows whether they are relevant to them.

At the end of every article, why not place links to other similar articles? This gives the reader a logical place to go to next. If you use WordPress, there are plugins that will automatically do this for you.

And always make it easy for the visitor to get back to your home page.

Is it easy to read?

Who will be reading your website? Are they old, or young?

Make sure that the important text on your website is easy to read. We suggest dark text over a light coloured background, and a text size of around 12-14 points.

And make sure the words display well on the page. You don’t want people to have to scroll  across the page to read your full text.  And ensure the important words are above the fold i.e easy to read without having to scroll down the page.

And try and avoid text that sits over pictures – it can be hard to read.

Does it speak my language?

Too many financial planning websites use jargon that may make sense to the person who wrote it, but mean nothing to the average reader.

A website may be the first point of contact a potential client has with your business. Can you show them that you speak their language?

No focus, no message

I’ve seen websites that started off well (and look great), but don’t seem focused. They talk about a lot of things, without actually providing any information. Make sure you have pages that explain how you help clients, and think about providing client testimonials that prove you can do what you say you will.

Keep it current

This is my last point, but perhaps the most important one.

Keep your website current.

There’s nothing worse than looking at someone’s site and the most recent newsletter they have is from 2008!

Show your clients that you’re up to date.

With the web solutions that we recommend to advisors, you’re able to update your content quickly and efficiently from your computer, making it a simple thing to keep your site looking fresh.

Content beats pretty designs

People are less fussed about the design of your site as they are with the content. What is your website like? What could you improve?

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
photo credit: Mamonello