Review of Website Builders for Accountants — 2006

We’ve come a long way, even in just the last few years. Several website
development options are now specifically designed for accountants. And they
are not only easy to use, but also offer truly professional design, both from
a technical and aesthetic aspect. Many of these systems also provide excellent
content options, from periodic newsletters and articles on tax and financial
matters that automatically post to the site, to financial calculators and other
features. Remember, having a stale website with no client-focused content is
about as useful as a phonebook ad. The phonebook serves a purpose, but valuable
content, advice and tools can keep you on a prospective client’s radar
and can also help steer existing clients toward additional services.

Another major development has been the continued growth of secure client collaboration
tools, specifically client portals and online tax organizers. These allow clients
to upload financial documents and other materials. They also provide firms with
the ability to allow clients access to some of their prepared files and documents,
lessening the need for paper copies and wasted time. Remember, this saves the
client time, too — a win-win.

All of the website development tools reviewed here are specifically geared
toward use by accounting and tax firms, offering varying degrees of content
as mentioned above, as well as additional tools such as personalized e-mail,
tax return status lookup for clients, and a variety of marketing tools. Most
of the options in this review are do-it-yourself (DIY) systems with automated
content and tools. However, two can be totally hands-off, with the vendor providing
all setup, maintenance and editing of the websites. I make no judgment call
on which of these methods is better as this will depend on the preference of
the firm. While hands-off systems require less work from the firm, they can
have a slightly higher price tag. And while the firm doesn’t have to perform
the edits it requests, it may have to wait a little longer to have the vendor
make the changes rather than have someone in-house available to do it. So find
out what your firm considers the most important factors and how involved with
the system you would like to be. But don’t worry, even the DIY systems
covered here shouldn’t require more than 30 to 60 minutes to initially
set up the website, and perhaps 15 to 30 minutes per month to perform minor
edits.

The website building solutions reviewed here were evaluated on the factors
outlined below. A summary section also concludes each review, identifying the
key benefits of the system and providing an assessment of what types of firms
would best benefit from its use.

Website Setup/Maintenance: What features aid in the setup
of the site, and what kind of templates are available for its design? Fewer
templates and customization options can result in websites that can look and
feel the same as every other one the system produces. Additionally, this section
looks at the ease with which customization and edits of the website can be
performed.

Automated Content: What articles, newsletters and financial
tools are available to easily place on the website without having to maintain
or update it? This content keeps the website fresh and informative, which
can keep visitors coming back. That of course, can result in more engagements.

Visual Quality/User Navigation: The appearance of a website
and its navigation flow are important factors. Websites for professional firms
should likewise be professional and should reflect the atmosphere of the practice.
This section also looks at the available templates and how the system incorporates
firm logos and other image files.

Special Features/Tools: Extra gadgets. Here I look at the
additional functions that are available, from e-mail, to domain registration
and other tools.

Site Marketing: How well does the site reflect the firm?
There are still a couple of site building tools that put their brand logo
on the websites, but for the most part this has faded away. Also, what tools
for mass distribution of newsletters are available, and does the system provide
statistics on website visitors?

Support: If trouble arises, how easy is it to find the
solution, whether through an online support center, a Help utility or through
live technical support? 

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