Your homepage needs to represent your overall brand. Thirty years ago, pre-digital, this was the role of brochures, except a random stranger rarely got hold of one of your brochures, but strangers will view your website. What meets the eye must be warm and focused on your ideal client, and/or your niche. This could be local images, niche images or some combination.

Everything must be clear with a visible Call-To-Action. It’s also important to craft your headline message for SEO – you want to be noticeable in a prospects financial advisor Google search.   

This includes a professional picture of your entire team, a bio with both professional and personal information, and a professional photo of each team member. Links to social media accounts should also be included.

An overview of your wealth management process needs to be visible at a quick glance. Links for each component should provide access to details for those interested and should outline your client experience and client communication commitments. Whenever possible, a 2- to 3-minute video description of services, provided that it is presented by the senior financial advisor.

This should include details of your niche(s), exceptions to your niche, and any additional requirements that are necessary for becoming a client.

You want a clear high-resolution logo, and the websites colors, font and imagery matching that of your company.

Smartphone Google searches are the new norm. You want your site to work on smartphones, tablets, Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome and Firefox. It’s important to have a clean window resizing design and quick page-loading times. Web accessibility is also important (alternate tags).

The key is “simple” and easily “accessible.” All navigation titles need to make sense at a quick glance. You want users to be able to easily find/access the information/content they’re interested in.

The Call-to-Action should be prominent and complete with analytics to measure the conversion rate. Periodic content/newsletter emails should be sent to the mailing list. This online lead management offers a niche-focused e-book, white paper, etc. and the individual’s contact information is captioned.

Business address, phone numbers, email addresses, social media links, and office hours should be easily accessible. An area map, images of the premises, and directions are also advisable.

A periodic review (quarterly or semiannually) should be conducted to make certain your site is not bloated with unnecessary information, images and tools. There should be no spelling or grammar errors, broken links or missing images. And readability of all pages should be checked.