The Elements of Building a Great Website

Not only that, but when careful thought and consideration are put into building a website, it bolsters your marketing efforts, better serves your clients, expands your business, and even attracts top-performing team members. Your website will position your brand in a positive light and do some heavy lifting that you may not have considered.

Website platforms

Building a website is easier than it ever was. Website builders and hosting platforms are more user-friendly than ever, and you no longer need to be a tech whiz to put up a website that looks better than a custom site from 2010. However, relying on stock templates means your site is unlikely to stand out, and far more goes into building a website that gets results.

There are a lot of website platforms from which to choose, and not all tools are created equal. Without experience, it is challenging to tell the difference, and you will be tempted to go for what’s marketed as the easiest or most turnkey solution. However, some popular platforms have limitations that are not immediately apparent, such as poor search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities, design constraints, and limited integration options.

Before choosing a website platform, get clear on your needs and do your research. For advisors, I always recommend going with WordPress or Squarespace. Here’s why:

Squarespace

Squarespace is a user-friendly, drag-and-drop, template-based website builder and content management system (CMS). You can access well-designed templates, hosting, and 24/7 support by paying an affordable subscription fee.

It’s easy to use, making blogging, code-free design, and website updates a breeze. It also incorporates SEO best practices, integrates seamlessly with tools such as your email marketing platform and online schedulers, and includes built-in analytics and security.

The main drawback to Squarespace is that it is limited in some of its capabilities and can be easy to outgrow. The best way to put this is that it’s incredibly user-friendly until it’s not. The templates are beautifully designed and can be tweaked, but full customization is challenging. And while many basic marketing tools are covered, the platform is not as accommodating for some advanced needs.

WordPress

WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that powers roughly 40% of all websites on the internet. WordPress websites are built using a theme, like a template, and installed on a hosting service. Unlike Squarespace, you don’t pay a subscription, but you do need to pay for hosting, and it’s up to your web developer or the hosting service to manage security and support.

WordPress is user-friendly, content is easy to update, and can be fully customized. You can purchase themes that operate as drag-and-drop builders and install plug-ins and third-party integrations to get the exact look and functionality you need. This enables you to utilize SEO best practices and take advantage of advanced marketing tools. You can also seamlessly incorporate client portals and other features that support your business operations.

The main drawback to using WordPress is that maintaining your site properly requires expert knowledge to manage updates, protect against hackers, ensure fast load times, and handle custom development. Fortunately, managed-hosting providers offer reasonably priced packages to cover much of this as well as access to tech support and developers.

Planning your website

1. Choose a domain name

If you do not have a website yet, first things first – select a domain name. It should reflect your firm’s name, be easy to remember, and be concise. For example, our domain name is CrystalMarketingSolutions.com. You’ll need to confirm that the domain is available, purchase it for a small fee, and register it using a service such as Whois.com.

2. Develop your website architecture

Your website architecture is the hierarchical structure of the pages on your site. Big corporations and media sites may have a complex structure, but your firm should keep it simple and easy to navigate. Give each page a clear name, such as home, about, services, contact, and start here. This isn’t the place to be clever; you want people (and search engines) to be able to find exactly what they are looking for with ease.

3. Play well with Google

From the planning phase, optimize your website for search engines. Remember, Google rewards those who play its game. Not only should you know and use the keywords prospects will be searching to find a service like yours in your area, but you’ll need to incorporate Google into your site build. This includes adding Google Maps, installing Google Analytics, and having a plan to regularly update your website with quality, relevant, fresh content, such as blog posts and videos.

4. Make it ADA compliant

Making your website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines is no longer a nice thing to do; it’s a must. If you don’t do it, you could be penalized by search engines and even open yourself up to lawsuits.

Include descriptions and alt-tags for all images, videos, and audio, as well as transcripts. Include clear labels and field cues on all forms. Make sure all text is easy to read with clear color contrast – and that’s just for starters.

5. Make it responsive

Like ADA compliance, making your website responsive – that is, making it display and function as well on mobile devices as it does on computer screens – is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must. According to Statistica.com, nearly half (47.28%) of all website traffic in the U.S. came from mobile devices as of late 2021. Whether they are on a smartphone, desktop, tablet, or another device, they should be able to use and easily navigate the site. Otherwise, it’s a terrible user experience, people will click away, and search engines will penalize you for having a high bounce rate.

Platforms such as Squarespace and WordPress make built-in responsiveness easier. But every page, form, button, and detail must be configured properly and tested throughout the build process.

Your website content

Your website’s platform, structure, and technology are foundational, but it’s the website content that does the work of turning your site into a marketing engine.

1. Focus on your audience

Who is your ideal client? Keep that person top of mind when building your website and creating your content. Your design, graphics, photography, and messaging should be crafted to speak to their needs and desires. The goal is to elicit emotion by connecting with what they are experiencing in their lives and how you can help solve their pain points.

Think of your website as the first line of defense to weed out unfit prospects, while drawing in your target market. Visitors should be able to determine if your firm can help them or if isn't a good fit.

Make the content about them, not you. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make with website content is making it all about the business. Your prospects want to learn about you, specifically through the lens of what you can do for them. They want to know how they can relate to you, what you might have in common, and that you have the background and experience to understand them.

2. Optimize your content for search engines

SEO is the process of improving your website to attract more and higher quality traffic from search engines such as Google and Bing. Successful SEO is a mix of technical concerns, your website’s authority as viewed by the search engines, and the actual content on your pages. While any of these areas can cause your site’s ranking to go up or down, your content is the element you have the most control over. The idea is to signal to Google that the pages on your site would be a good resource for people who are searching for specific words or phrases, known as “keywords.”

For example, suppose your target market is healthcare employees. In that case, key phrases you may want to have your website show up for in search engine results are, “financial advisor for nurses in <your town name>” or “financial advisor for physicians’ assistants in <your town name>.” To achieve this, your website content needs to be optimized for these phrases, and you need to put a plan in place to update it with fresh content optimized for these phrases regularly.

SEO is a complex process with many moving parts, and content is a key component. Optimizing your content is a valuable opportunity for gaining organic search traffic that you don’t want to overlook when building your website.

3. Include a strong call to action (CTA)

When visitors come to your website, you want them to do more than consume content. Sure, your website should be a resource where they can learn all about you, but its real purpose is to get them to go a step further and take action.

Consider what you want visitors to do for each page or section on your website. What one specific action do you want them to take? It could be that you want them to click a button to learn more about your services or process. It might be that you want them to sign up for your newsletter, a whitepaper, or a free e-book. Maybe you want them to book a free consultation. Perhaps the audience for a particular page is existing clients, and you want them to fill out a form or schedule a meeting.

With clear CTAs, your visitors will know exactly what to do and where to go, enhancing the user experience and getting the website to work for you. Without an “add to cart” button on a shopping site, how would you buy? Think of this when considering your CTAs. Why leave it up to visitors to navigate to your contact page and send you an email when you can add a “book a free consultation” button that takes them to a screening form and directly to your automated scheduling tool?

Who will build your firm’s website?

As tempting as it may be to DIY your website or ask your teenager to do it to save a few bucks, I recommend working with a professional – one proficient in building highly-functional websites developed for the purpose of attracting clients and growing your business.

When selecting a firm to build a site, be thorough in interviewing them. Ask about all upfront costs, timelines, SEO plans, ADA compliance experience, and optimization for all mobile devices. Be sure they understand that your industry has regulations and know how they will meet those standards.

Crystal Lee Butler, MBA is the owner of Crystal Marketing Solutions, a full-service marketing agency dedicated to working specifically with independent financial advisors. Since 2011, she’s helped financial advisors cut through the noise to attract ideal clients and grow their businesses using proven strategies that we use with our clients every day. As your “Chief Marketing Officer,” our goal is to help you grow your business and put time back on your calendar so that you can focus on what you do best: serving your clients.

Read more articles by Crystal Butler