Building a Website for Your Tax Prep Business

A TaxSlayer Pro user at a laptop builds a website for their tax business

A professional, well-designed website is one of the greatest marketing tools at your disposal. It gives your tax preparation business credibility and helps clients find you more easily. 

If you don’t have a website for your tax business yet, creating one is probably easier and more affordable than you think. Here’s what you should know:

Good content is important

A good business website lets clients know exactly what you do, who you are, and how to contact you. You’ll want to include these basics:

  • A Home Page that clearly explains your business and features relevant keywords for search engine optimization (SEO). A home page can also be a great place to feature a few short client testimonials and social media buttons (icons that link to your social media accounts).
  • An About Page that details your expertise, a brief history of your business, and any certifications you or your employees may hold (EA, CPA, etc.). Use this space to stand out as credible, competent, and personable to potential clients. A professional headshot and just a touch of personal information can humanize you and help clients see you as friendly and helpful.
  • A Services Page that lists and briefly explains the services you offer, including tax preparation for individuals or businesses, bank products, refund advances, and any non-tax services like bookkeeping or payroll.
  • A Contact Page that features your phone number, email address, office address, and working hours. You should also include a contact form that allows clients to send a quick message directly from the page and provides a way for current or prospective clients to reach you outside of normal business hours. Make sure the form includes their first name, phone number, and email address.

If you capture email addresses from prospective clients, you can add them to marketing email campaigns. TaxSlayer Pro has a great client retention tool that allows you to export lead lists for email marketing.

Some tax professionals also like to include an FAQs page with clients’ most common questions about their services and general tax questions.

Focus on local SEO

SEO stands for search engine optimization. One of your website’s main purposes is to help your tax business land on search engine results pages (SERPs). To do this, you’ll need to weave relevant keywords into your website copy wherever you can naturally fit them. 

Focus on words and phrases that describe your services (such as tax preparation, tax help, tax professional, etc.). Also include terms that are specific to your local area (such as your city and state, nearby cities, and descriptions of your area, i.e. “the Tristate area”). 

For more on keywords and local SEO tips, read Local SEO 101 for Your Tax Business

Make it easy for clients to get in touch

A cardinal rule of any business website: don’t bury your contact information. 

In addition to your contact page, you should make it easy for clients to contact you from any page of your website. At the bottom of each page, you can include your phone number and email or a “Contact Me” button that navigates to your contact page. You could even include a “click to call” link, so visitors using their smartphones can call you instantly.

Front-end builders make life easier

Building a professional, attractive website on your own is possible even if you don’t have any coding knowledge. Services like Wix and Elegant Themes allow you to choose from well-designed templates that are also mobile-friendly. Text boxes and simple drag-and-drop features make it easy to enter your information and customize your design.  

You’ll pay a small premium for these templates, but you’ll still spend far less than you would on a professional web designer.

For more marketing ideas, read Growing Your Tax Business

Strive for simplicity 

Less is more when it comes to professional websites. Aim for simple, clean layouts and short, scannable text. 

This article was last edited on June 9, 2021.