A stellar website has several key pages, each with its distinct purpose: the Homepage, About Page, Services, and Contact. How you craft your website copywriting plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining customers. And every page should include your Call-To-Action (CTA), without the CTA, your users will not have an idea of what you want them to do. Here, we dive deep into these essential components.

What to Write on Your Website: 

Homepage: Your homepage serves as the virtual front door of your business. It should succinctly convey who it’s for, what you are offering and how it’s going to make their life better.  Key components include a captivating headline, a brief description of your services, and compelling visuals or graphics. Remember, “what to put on your homepage” should encompass the essence of your brand and serve as an inviting gateway to the rest of your website. Additionally, it is incredibly important to remember a CTA on this page. Most visitors do not make it past the homepage, so having a clear CTA helps tell them what to do on your site. 

About Page: This page dives deeper into who you are. It’s where you tell your story, share your mission, and let your brand’s personality shine through. This is where you get to post about you, your employees (if you have some) so your prospective customers get to know the people behind the brand, so ensure this page feels personal and genuine. As with every page, your CTA should be available here as well, you never know they may fall in love with you there and their decision is already done. 

Services: Clearly and concisely list out what you offer. Each service should have a brief description, any relevant pricing, and possibly customer testimonials or case studies. (If you aren’t allowed to have either of these due to regulations like a financial advisor, I encourage fictitious clients.) It’s crucial to communicate the value and benefits of your offerings. On this page, you can also offer your customer an insight into how it is working with you by laying out your process step-by-step. The main reason people are viewing your site is to see if you have the solution for their problem. This can be shown in different ways, from showing how your process is done, your pricing, offering or who specifically it is for. 

Contact: This page should make it easy for visitors to get in touch with you. Include multiple contact methods – email, phone, and a contact form. Also, provide a physical address if relevant, and possibly a map for local businesses. The contact page is a great place to have your FAQ’s, just in case their question is frequently asked, it can save them a call/email. 

Whether to Hire a Content Writer:

For many, the decision to hire a website content writer or craft the web copy themselves can be perplexing. At KHD, we have people who elect to write for themselves, hire our in-house writers or to have a mixture of the two. Here’s a brief breakdown:

Why You Might Consider Hiring:

Expertise: A professional website content writer knows how to write compelling copy that’s optimized for search engines.

Time: Writing takes time. Outsourcing this task can free you up to focus on other areas of your business. We usually estimate that it takes new business owners around 15 hours to write their own copy for their sites. This alone can be daunting! 

Perspective: An external writer can provide a fresh perspective on your brand, ensuring your messaging is clear and resonates with your target audience. We often have a bias for our own copy, because all humans love to talk about themselves!

Doing it Yourself:

If you have a knack for writing and a clear understanding of your brand, diving into website writing yourself can be a rewarding experience. Just ensure you keep SEO best practices in mind.

How Much to Write

Quality always trumps quantity when it comes to website copy. Here’s a rule of thumb:

Homepage: Keep it concise. Use compelling headlines and sub-headlines, and avoid clutter.

About Page: 300-500 words are usually sufficient to tell your story and convey your brand’s ethos.

Services: Each service can have between 100-300 words, depending on its complexity.

Contact: Keep it simple and direct.

For SEO: it’s vital to incorporate keywords naturally within your content on all pages or as many as possible. For example, in this article, phrases like ‘what to write on a website’, ‘website copy’, ‘web copy’, and ‘what to put on your website’ are seamlessly integrated. These keywords help search engines understand your content and rank your site accordingly. It leads people to you organically. 

Embarking on the website creation journey is no small feat. Whether you’re considering crafting your website copy or hiring an agency to do the heavy lifting, understanding the foundational elements of what to write on your website is crucial.

Remember, your website is often the first impression customers have of your business. Make it count.

If the idea of writing for your website is still incredibly daunting to you, we would love to help you! We are just some (I promise, extremely short stuff you know) clicks away. Get in touch for help from us here. 

What is a Brand?

At its core, a brand is a unique experience. Many think it is a logo or a tagline but it goes beyond that. It’s a mix of emotions, perceptions, and expectations that consumers associate with a particular product or service.

But why is developing a brand important? A powerful brand generates trust, fosters loyalty, and can even command a premium price. Brands serve as a promise to the customer, an assurance of quality, consistency, and value.

How to Build a Brand

Building a brand is a multifaceted endeavor. It’s not just about deciding on a color palette or crafting a catchy slogan. Instead, it’s a comprehensive effort that requires strategic thought and consistent execution. Let’s explore the steps:

Developing a Brand Strategy: Before diving into design and messaging, it’s vital to understand your brand’s foundation. This includes your brand’s mission, vision, target audience, and values. A brand development strategy serves as a roadmap, detailing how your brand will tackle the market, differentiate itself, and grow over time.

How to Come Up With a Company Name: This is often the first tangible step in the branding process. Your brand name should encapsulate the essence of your offering while being memorable and distinct. It should resonate with your target audience and stand the test of time. Tools like name generators can help, but it’s essential to ensure that your chosen name is available legally and online (as a domain, for instance).

Designing a Visual Identity: Once your name is set, you’ll want to design a visual representation of your brand. This includes logo design, color schemes, typography, and more. Your visual identity should consistently reflect your brand’s character across all mediums.

How to Build a Brand Story: Narratives are powerful. They help in forging connections and evoking emotions. Your brand story recounts your brand’s journey, the problems it aims to solve, and the value it provides. This story can be integrated into your content strategy, whether on your website, in marketing collateral, or through social content.

Crafting a Distinct Voice and Personality: Every interaction with your audience, be it through social media, email, or advertising, should reflect a consistent brand voice. This voice, whether formal, casual, humorous, or serious, helps in solidifying your brand’s image in consumers’ minds.

Make Your Brand Stand Out: In a crowded market, differentiation is key. Whether it’s through innovative offerings, exceptional service, or an unmatched user experience, find what sets your brand apart and capitalize on it.

Creating a Brand Building Plan: This is your long-term strategy for increasing brand awareness and building loyalty. It includes everything from content marketing strategies, partnerships, advertising, PR, and beyond. A well-defined plan will help in ensuring that all branding efforts are aligned and working in harmony.

In conclusion, building a brand is more than just aesthetics or clever messaging. It’s about forging connections, instilling trust, and creating lasting relationships with your consumers. All the details meld together to create a unique experience. By understanding the intricacies of branding and by committing to a consistent brand building plan, you can carve a niche for yourself in the market, ensuring that your brand not only survives but thrives. Remember, in today’s age, a strong brand doesn’t just represent your product or service; it epitomizes the experiences, emotions, and expectations of your audience. So, as you embark on this journey, aim not just to be seen or heard but to be remembered.

The Importance of Design

A well-designed brand is more than a visual aid; it’s a reflection of a company’s identity. It’s the first impression a potential client forms and serves as a lasting memory of the business. A financial advisor’s brand should exude trust, credibility, and competence—essential traits in an industry built on managing wealth and guiding financial decisions.

Trust Building: Trust is the cornerstone of the relationship between you and your clients. You are working with someone’s hard earned wealth leaving trust as possibly the most important value for financial advisors. A professionally designed brand can instill confidence, signally that you are serious about your business and committed to providing reliable advice. Elements like clean lines, balanced composition, and appropriate color choices can subtly communicate these qualities.

Brand Recognition: In the sea of financial firms, a distinctive design can be the key to standing out. Think about iconic brands with logos like the bull and bear of Merrill Lynch or the eagle of American Express. These symbols are etched into the collective memory, instantly recognizable and synonymous with the respective brands. A well-designed brand can create that same kind of instant recognition and association. You want something that will stand out, and remind your ideal clients that you are here. 

Storytelling: Effective branding has the power to tell a story, convey a message or speak on values in a simple and memorable manner. Your branding can encapsulate your firm’s values, philosophy, or unique offerings. Whether it’s a symbol of growth, worldview, values or a unique way to offer your services, a brand should be a visual representation of your narrative.

Financial Advisor Brand Examples

The world of finance has seen a spectrum of brands, each aiming to capture the essence of the business while catering to its unique target audience. Let’s explore a few well-known examples and some clients of ours that highlight various aspects of design for financial advisors.

Edward Jones: Edward Jones’ branding is characterized by its warm and inviting aesthetic, reflecting an emphasis on personalized financial advisory services. Using bright and friendly tones, their brand portrays a sense of trustworthiness and approachability. The more overarching design elements suggest a friendly and personal touch, positioning Edward Jones as a financial advisor that values close, individualized client relationships.

Flow Financial Planning: Flow’s branding delivers a vivacious and dynamic energy, effortlessly distinguishing itself. It captures Meg’s witty, candid, and keep-it-real attitude through a selection of typography, color schemes, and messaging. While the brand assures clients of unvarnished transparency, its vibrant color palette introduces a playful-whimsy feel, offering a refreshing perspective in the financial realm.

Morton Financial Advice: Morton’s design is  a transparent and concise website, underscoring the brand’s dedication to genuinely managing clients’ finances rather than merely overseeing them. Emphasizing Morton Financial Advice’s philosophy of harmonizing life’s pleasures with sound financial management, the site exudes a rustic, outdoor ambiance imbued with warmth that speaks to actively live while being financially smart. 

The Importance of Quality Design for Financial Advisors

In the age of information overload, a visually pleasing brand has the power to captivate and engage an audience. But beyond mere aesthetics, quality design has deeper implications.

Differentiation: The financial advisory field is competitive, and a unique and well-designed brand can be the differentiating factor. It can set you apart from the competition, making your business more memorable and increasing the likelihood of client recall.

Professionalism: Quality design speaks volumes about your professionalism. Poor design can inadvertently convey a lack of attention to detail or commitment. On the other hand, a well-crafted design showcases dedication and investment in the business, translating into better client relationships.

Adaptability: Branding isn’t just meant for business cards and websites. It will be displayed across various platforms, from social media profiles to conference banners. Professionally designed branding will maintain its visual impact regardless of the medium, ensuring consistent brand representation.

Emotional Connection: A design that resonates emotionally with clients can forge a deeper connection. People tend to gravitate towards brands that evoke positive feelings or align with their values. A good design can establish an emotional connection, making clients more likely to trust and engage with you as their financial advisor.

In conclusion, the world of financial advisory relies on the delicate balance of expertise and trust. Quality design serves as the bridge between these two pillars, conveying your professionalism, reliability, and commitment. As demonstrated by notable examples, branding encapsulates the essence of a business and can narrate a compelling story. Beautiful design isn’t just a visual treat; it’s a strategic asset that differentiates, engages, and connects with clients. In a realm where precision is prized, you should never underestimate the power of a meticulously crafted brand.

Timeline for Building a Website

Launching a website is not an overnight process; it requires careful planning and execution. Getting everyone’s ducks in a row is quite the task, and half of that comes with figuring out just how long this project will take. The timeline for website development can vary depending on the project’s scope, complexity, and resources available. Typically, the website building process takes our team about 12 weeks or so. This is fairly fast for a website build but we like to work that way to keep momentum up on all sides because this typically creates a better product and saves time from having to become reacquainted with the project. This is all depending on how soon deliverables on the client’s end are obtained as well as the review process etc. It is a lot of matching schedules and making sure that everyone has the time for the little pieces. 

Website Planning 

The first stage of the website build is the preparation stage, here we go over everything from access, to diving into what makes your brand tick and what you aim to see from this design. 

These pieces are essential for creating a comprehensive website plan and outline of the site strategy. This includes determining the website’s purpose, target audience, and desired functionalities. Conducting competitor analysis and market research can also provide valuable insights into industry trends and customer expectations.

The next stage is the foundation, based on the information you give us in phase 1 we start to create an inspiration board and sitemap to make sure everyone is on the same page, and that we are heading down the same path to success, hand-in-hand. 

Website Design and Development

Once the website plan is in place, the actual design and development process begins. A well-structured website development project plan is crucial at this stage. Designers and developers work collaboratively to create a visually appealing and user-friendly website. This involves designing wireframes, choosing color schemes, and selecting suitable fonts to enhance the overall user experience.

Additionally, quality content is the backbone of any successful website. In this stage, content writers help you craft compelling and informative text that aligns with the website’s purpose and engages the target audience. Content writing includes creating impactful headlines, clear product or service descriptions, and genuinely persuasive content. 

A visually appealing website can leave a lasting impression on visitors. This involves obtaining appropriate photos for your website, which may include your offerings, lifestyle photos, or relevant stock photos. Additionally, graphics for your website, such as logos, icons, and illustrations, are created or sourced to enhance the site’s aesthetics and branding. Once the content, graphics, and photos are ready, they are integrated into the website. It’s crucial to optimize images and graphics for web use to maintain site performance and loading speed. Additionally, these are extremely important for SEO reasons because search engines prioritize sites with properly named, tagged, and described original photos. The build phase focuses on turning the design concept into a fully functional website. Everything from adding copy to photos is done in this stage. 

Website Review & Launch 

Before the final launch, a comprehensive review of the website is conducted. This involves checking for any broken links, spelling errors, or functionality issues. It’s essential to ensure that the website is compatible across different browsers and devices for a seamless and responsive user experience. Additionally, we believe it is important for any and every client to learn how their site works. You need to be in the driver’s seat of YOUR site. This is scheduled to do a basic training on the back-end of a site whether you want to edit an employee page, swap a picture or add on blogs. 

The much-awaited website launch is the culmination of the entire website building process. A well-executed website launch is critical to making a strong impact. Your website should be something you are ecstatic to show off so when you are launching it can be a perfect opportunity to drum up excitement and market your business.

Building a website is a multi-faceted process that requires careful planning, execution, and attention to detail. From the initial website plan to the final website launch, every stage plays a vital role in creating a successful online presence. By understanding the website building timeline and following a systematic approach, you and your business can create a compelling and functional website that resonates with your target audience.