A UK accountancy firm’s website should help a prospective client answer three questions: do you understand a business like mine, can I verify who will advise me, and what happens if I get in touch? Clear service scope, relevant experience and an approachable first-contact process usually answer those questions better than a page full of broad promises.
For an established practice, the website also serves referrals and existing clients. It should help someone changing accountant assess the firm while giving current clients an unmistakable route to their portal or usual contact. Those are different journeys and deserve clear labels.
Describe services as work the client can recognise
Separate services such as annual accounts, bookkeeping, payroll, tax compliance and management reporting where the firm actually provides them. Explain who the service suits, what it involves, the information clients supply and how the working relationship operates.
A director looking for monthly management information has different questions from a sole trader arranging a first return. “Business support” gives neither much to work with. A service page might explain reporting frequency, the discussions included and which tasks remain with the client, without turning the page into an engagement letter.
If you publish prices, state the scope and conditions: business type, transaction assumptions, services included, setup charges and VAT treatment. If fees are quoted individually, explain what information determines the proposal. Avoid a low starting figure whose essential exclusions are only revealed in a sales call.
Use client segments only when they change the answer
Sole traders, owner-managed companies, charities and growing employer businesses can need different support. Choose the groups the practice genuinely serves and describe their relevant questions. This helps a reader recognise fit without requiring a page for every possible industry.
Sector specialisms need substance. Explain the work, recurring issues and relevant experience that support the claim. Do not label the firm a construction specialist solely because it can complete a generic service page with construction keywords. If a case study is available, describe the actual work and obtain permission for any identifiable details.
A page for people changing accountant can be particularly useful. Explain the initial discussion, how a proposal is agreed and how the firm coordinates the next steps once appointed. Do not guarantee effortless transfer in every situation or imply that a web enquiry creates an engagement.
An example structure for an established practice
This is an illustrative page plan. Adapt it to the firm’s verified services and capacity to maintain the content.
- Home: the clients you serve, your real location or coverage, principal services and a clear invitation to discuss requirements.
- Services: individual pages for materially different work, with scope, responsibilities and relevant next steps.
- Who we help: client segments or sectors with a distinct proposition and evidence.
- About and team: the practice background, named people, roles and accurately described qualifications.
- Changing accountant: what a prospective client should prepare and how the initial process works.
- Resources: useful maintained guidance, only if someone can review it when the underlying information changes.
- Contact: practical contact details, appointment arrangements and a short first enquiry.
- Client portal: a clearly labelled link to the existing secure service, separate from the public enquiry form.
These do not all need equal weight in the main navigation. A small practice could combine background and team information. A larger one may need office pages or specialist service groups. The hierarchy should reflect how a visitor chooses an adviser, rather than the firm’s internal reporting structure.
Professional credentials must mean exactly what they say
Check the wording of qualifications, memberships and regulatory statements against the relevant professional body’s records and rules. Distinguish an individual’s qualification from the firm’s status, and distinguish membership from authorisation to carry out a particular regulated activity.
Audit is a useful example of why this matters. ICAEW’s audit guidance addresses registration and the requirements applying to firms undertaking that work. An accountancy website should not infer authority to provide audit simply from a general professional credential.
Have the appropriate partner approve claims and logo use before publication. Link to a relevant verification record where one exists. The same care applies to awards, software partnerships and testimonials: use the precise status you can substantiate, with permission where needed.
Team biographies should explain who does what and why a client might speak to them. Real roles, current qualifications and relevant areas of work are more useful than interchangeable descriptions of passion and excellence. Our business website trust guide explains how those details work together.
Make first contact easy without collecting confidential files
An initial form might ask for a name, contact details, business type and the help required. Give people room to say that they are unsure. A preferred contact method or suitable time can help if the practice will use that information.
Ask clients to keep tax identifiers, bank details and sensitive documents out of a general enquiry. Explain the secure route used later, once the firm has established the appropriate relationship and process. Adding a file-upload field to a public form is not a substitute for planning confidential onboarding.
State what happens next in language the firm can honour: an initial discussion, clarification of requirements and a proposal where suitable. Avoid promising a specific response time unless the team can consistently support it. Test that the request reaches the correct person and that the acknowledgement makes sense to a new client.
Accessibility belongs in the client experience
Prospective clients may be reading on a small phone, increasing text size or navigating with a keyboard. Use clear headings, readable contrast, descriptive links and properly labelled forms. Keep essential explanations in web text rather than requiring a brochure download.
W3C’s WCAG overview describes the accessibility standards used to guide that work. Set an appropriate accessibility brief and test real tasks; a decorative accessibility badge does not demonstrate that a visitor can use the form or client-portal link.
On mobile, check long service names, telephone links, booking tools and error messages. If an external appointment or portal system is part of the journey, review the transition as well as your own pages. Our UK business accessibility guide gives a fuller planning checklist.
Local relevance should reflect the real practice
Show genuine office details, meeting arrangements and the areas served. If the practice works remotely across the UK, explain how that relationship operates. Do not present a registered address as a staffed client office if visitors cannot meet you there.
Give important services their own useful explanations and link them from relevant client-segment pages. Avoid duplicating the same copy across dozens of town pages. A location page earns its place when it offers real information about that office, team or service arrangement.
Resources also create an editorial obligation. Technical tax articles need an informed reviewer, a meaningful review date and a process for correcting outdated information. A smaller maintained library is more credible than a large archive nobody can verify.
A pre-launch credibility checklist
- Can each service lead confirm the description and its exclusions?
- Are individual credentials and firm-level statuses clearly distinguished?
- Are team details, office arrangements and contact routes current?
- Do case studies and testimonials have the necessary approval?
- Can a new client understand the next step without sharing confidential documents?
- Can existing clients find the correct portal on a phone and by keyboard?
- Does every technical resource have a named reviewer?
Use the answers to prepare a clear website brief. The strongest scope is one the practice can support with accurate information and maintain after launch.