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The financial advisory industry is full of handy insights when it comes to web design. The slightest difference, even if it’s not clearly visible, can be a game changer in such a competitive industry.
I’ve decided to dig deeper into the matter and conduct my own research. The goal? Find the best practices of financial advisor web sites to prove that creating a successful site is attainable if you follow certain rules. Here’s how to incorporate the greatest ideas from all over the world into your own site.
How I chose the financial web sites to analyze (boring stuff alert)
When the idea of researching the financial consulting industry crossed my mind, I needed to set out a plan how to do it:
STEP 1. I determined top financial advisor web sites in the world by analyzing their positions in search-engine result pages, load speed and rankings of best web sites (if they had been selected in any). I chose the following regions for the analysis:
- North America
- Latin America
- Europe
- Asia
- Middle East
- Eastern Europe
- Australia
- Africa (represented by South Africa, since it has the biggest interest in financial consulting, as provided by Google Trends)
STEP 2. I determined the most critical elements of financial advisor web sites for comparison. These include texts, structure, news and blog, calls-to-action, and contacts.
STEP 3. I made a list of recommendations that would help you create a financial advisor web site that would embody the best practices from all over the world.
Time to move on to the research itself!
Financial advisor web sites: So similar, so different
The first thing I noticed is that there’s no unified approach to financial advisor web sites. Since the industry evolved differently in different regions, their web sites reflect that.
Regions with a long history of financial consulting (e.g. North America, Europe, Australia) have more expertise in how to present their business on the Internet. However, some newbies in consulting like South Africa seem to have already embodied the best practices.
Interesting: One of the trending subjects in financial consulting is robo-advisors, automatic financial consulting apps created by professionals. They aim to make consulting more affordable and convenient so that you can get financial advice 24/7 even on a budget. However, they won’t do for planning complex financial operations. The best thing about robo-advisor web sites is the substantial use of trust factors, such as testimonials, awards, etc.
Read the full article here by Stanislav Shyshkin, Advisor Perspectives
