Financial services represent a high-level B2B and B2C service industry, where trust and confidence are the highest values a company strives to build.

One of the ways in which successful financial services companies build and maintain their good reputation is by hiring a specialized web design firm to develop their websites. Your website will be one of the first impressions a prospect gets of your company, so make sure it’s doing it right.

There are plenty of key elements to keep in mind to make sure your website is in tip-top shape, here are a few to keep in mind:

1. Clean, Minimalist Design

When a potential customer gets on your website, there should be a concise message so someone can quickly tell what you offer and why you’re the company they should be working with. The homepage should then draw users into other pages of your website, with more details on what you offer, your firm, etc.

2. Logos of Outside Organizations

One great way to boost consumer confidence is to include the logos of organizations you’re affiliated with.  It could be a local chamber of commerce or a professional organization that you’re a member of, such as Fee Only. By including their logos at the bottom of your website, you send your potential clients the right signals.

3. Feature Your Team

Making a personal connection with your prospects and clients is important.  Be sure to include photos and bios of your team members so someone can get to know you better.  Don’t be “just” another professional firm.  It’s connections like these that will help build more rapport and close more business.

Extra credit: For each of your team members, link to their LinkedIn profile.

4. Clear Contact Details

Include your contact details on every page of your website — such as your phone # at the top of the website. Also, repeat your contact info (including phone # / address) at the bottom of each page.  Websites that don’t clearly provide their contact info generally look like they’re trying to hide something.  Making your contact info easy to find makes you look more legit as well as make it easier for people to get in touch with you.

5. Easy to Follow Service Pages

Feature your main service offerings on your homepage, with mini blurbs about each service, and link them to dedicated pages for each of your services/service categories.  This helps you in a number of ways.

First, it makes it simple for a prospect to find and learn more about the specific services they’re interested in.  Second, it’s great for search engines to help bring in more qualified traffic to your website.

6. Company Profile

Include a company profile page so someone can get a quick overall snapshot of your firm.  This would include info on when you started, what you focus on, who you work with, and why someone should work with you.  This should be a high-level overview of your company — not an extremely detailed narrative.

Within this page also be sure to link to other pages of your website. Example: If you mention Service XYZ, make sure the text is linked to a page with more info about it.

7. Career Page

Even if you don’t have a current job opening, it’s a good idea to encourage professionals to submit their resume. This way, whenever you have a position you need to fill you will already have a database of talent – and it’s also a good way to network with fellow professionals.

As a final piece of advice, remember to keep your website up to date with relevant content.  Put a newsletter or blog out there. You can feature an employee that has worked for the firm for a while, highlight a recent article or change in the industry, there are lots of possibilities.  Google likes to see fresh content, and so do your customers.

Ready to discuss your new website?  Get in touch today.