How to Build a Financial Advisor Website

Having a well-designed website not only enhances visibility, but also helps convert visitors into loyal clients, making a strong online presence essential for financial advisors. It serves as a powerful tool for establishing credibility and making it easier for potential clients to find you. But what makes a financial advisor website truly effective, especially when integrated with a strong social media presence? These key strategies will help you create a site that captures attention, builds trust and keeps prospects engaged.

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Should You DIY or Hire a Professional to Build Your Website?

If you’re creating a financial advisor website for the first time or improving upon an existing one, it’s important to consider whether you want to do it yourself or outsource it. Doing it yourself can save money, though it may require an investment of your time. And there can be another benefit as well, says Noyes, who built his own advisor website from scratch.

“I chose to do it on my own rather than hire out the project because I wanted to learn how to use the software so that I can easily update and make changes to my site,” he says.

But if you lack the technical know-how or simply don’t have time to create a brand-new website, you may prefer to let a professional step in. Webster says if you’re considering working with a marketing firm that builds websites, to vet them fully beforehand. Specifically, consider how they align with your needs, goals and the message you’re trying to convey to prospective clients.

Another option is to reach out to the owners of financial advisor websites that mirror what you’re looking for and ask if they’d be open to referring their developer or designer. They may or may not be willing to part with this information, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

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1. Start With a Winning Bio

When a new visitor arrives at your website, it’s important that they’re able to easily discern who you are and what you do. Financial advisor websites that succeed at this goal make this information easy to find and compelling to read.

“Your bio or about us page is the heart of your website,” says Paul Sundin, a CPA and tax strategist at Estate CPA.

Prospects visit this page because they want to know more about you, which may be a precursor to using your services.

“They’ll be trusting you with something very important about themselves,” Sundin says. “So if you want to win a client, win their trust through your about us page.”

So what should a good financial advisor bio page include?

At a minimum, you’ll want to share:

Your name and professional credentials
A few relevant career highlights
Who you help and what you do for your clients

It can also be helpful to include some interesting personal details. The more personality you can inject into your bio, the more relatable it may be to prospects. If you can build that initial connection with your bio, prospective clients may be more motivated to take the next step and reach out.

2. Keep It Simple

When creating your advisor bio or mapping out what information to include on your business website, make sure your plan reflects a “less-is-more” rule in mind.

“One mistake I see advisors make is trying to put too much on their website,” says Corey Noyes, owner and financial advisor at Balanced Capital.

If there’s simply too much to take in all at once, your website could be overwhelming for visitors.

When considering what to include on your financial advisor’s website, stick with what’s going to be most relevant and useful to visitors. That includes:

A well-written bio or about us page
A section detailing what you do and/or what type of clients you specialize in helping
Contact forms or links
Required legal forms and disclosures

Noyes also recommends including a page that includes your pricing and fee schedule.

“A lot of planners are very nervous to do this,” he says. “But I can tell you from experience you’ll win clients simply because you displayed your pricing and your competitors didn’t.”

Including pricing information can send the signal that you encourage transparency. And that can be another step in fostering trust among prospective clients who are considering using your services.

3. Focus on User Experience

A woman reviews financial advisor websites to choose an advisor to work with.

When designing a website for your advisory business, it’s essential to view it from a prospective client’s perspective. This approach helps you assess the user experience and determine whether your site effectively meets visitors’ needs.

Consider this scenario: You’re an individual seeking guidance on managing your 401(k). After a quick Google search, you find two financial advisor websites. The first has a cluttered homepage and confusing navigation, making it difficult to find relevant information. After 20 minutes of frustration, you leave and visit the second site. This one has a clean, intuitive design, allowing you to find the answers you need within seconds.

Given these two experiences, which advisor would you be more inclined to trust? A well-structured, user-friendly website can make all the difference in converting visitors into clients.

“One mistake to avoid is having a website that’s confusing to the visitor,” Webster says. “If there’s too much going on, they won’t know where to go next, which creates a negative user experience.”

Webster says that financial advisor website design requires you to consider what your audience is most likely to prefer. If you primarily serve older clients, for instance, they may prefer a layout that’s simple and easy to navigate. A younger client base, on the other hand, may be more gravitate toward a financial advisor website that includes stylistic, interactive elements.

Mobile accessibility also matters for expanding your reach and connecting with your target audience.

“Almost everyone has a mobile phone and they use it to browse,” Sundin says. “Your website has a greater chance of being viewed on a mobile device so make sure that it’s responsive.”

That means ensuring your site loads quickly and completely on mobile devices and that there are no pop-ups or banners blocking your content. A site that’s slow to load or hard to read on a mobile device may cause visitors to click away before they have a chance to learn what you’re all about.

4. Don’t Forget About SEO

Search engine optimization or SEO is essential for increasing your website’s visibility and attracting organic traffic from Google and other search engines. The higher your site appears in the search results for a particular term or phrase, the more likely it is to be visited by users.

When designing your website, look to implement these SEO principles and best practices:

Keyword research: Identify relevant keywords and phrases your potential clients may be searching for and naturally integrate them into your content.
On-page SEO: Enhance each page by strategically placing relevant keywords in titles, headers, meta descriptions and image alt texts.
Build domain authority: Obtaining backlinks from well-respected websites can boost your site’s credibility and ranking.
Local SEO: Improve your local search visibility by incorporating location-specific keywords and setting up a Google My Business profile.

Financial Advisor Website Builders

If hiring a firm to build your website isn’t an option and you lack the technical skills to create one from scratch, a website builder can be a great solution. Many website builders cater specifically to financial advisors, so the key is finding one that suits your needs. Look for a platform with an intuitive content management system (CMS) that makes it easy to update and manage your site without unnecessary complications.

Equally important is selecting a template that aligns with your brand. Your website should look professional while also fostering a sense of trust and connection with potential clients. Most website builders offer a variety of templates designed to create a polished, engaging online presence. Below are some website builder options to consider.

WordPress: The most widely used content management system on the internet. WordPress is very customizable and can be easy to use once the website is built. Plus you can find nearly unlimited templates to choose from. You may need more technical knowledge, though, to get started.
Squarespace: This is another website builder that continues to grow. It’s not as customizable as WordPress but you can be up and running within a few hours if you use one of their plug-and-play templates.
Wix: Wix is similar to Squarespace but you might find more template options. The choice between the two really comes down to personal preference.
Webflow: This is another web builder that requires you to have a little bit of knowledge in navigating websites. However, it’s built to make it easy to move what you want around the website with ease. The content management portion is not as intuitive as the other website builders on the list.

Bottom Line

An optimized financial advisor website, both for search engines and user experience, can be a powerful tool for growing your business. If you don’t have a website or aren’t leveraging it to generate leads, you could be missing out on a key opportunity to attract and engage potential clients. The right tools and strategies can help you build a website that enhances your online presence and drives business growth.

Tips for Sourcing Clients

Automate lead generation. SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
Ask for referrals. Sometimes landing a new client can be as simple as asking your existing clients for a referral. This is something you can do through your content marketing via social media posts or email marketing.
Expand your search. More investors are searching for financial advisors online these days. Rather than limiting your search for leads to your local geographic area, consider how you can widen your search to connect with clients who may be turning to digital channels to find financial professionals.