Your website is your shop window.

We say this a lot, but we’ll carry on shouting it from the rooftops for everyone to hear.

There are countless features you can add to your website to elevate it and set you apart from other firms, but we’ve compiled a short list of essentials that we believe will take your website to the next level.

Oh, and we’ve also included four things you really need to remove.

Add: Social proof

If you’ve had a call with the Yardstick team, you would’ve heard this term being used. And if you’ve not, then social proof is the practice of demonstrating the value of your work using testimonials, videos, surveys, ratings, reviews, and so on.

Never underestimate the power of social proof. As much as our copywriters can sing your praises in the copy they write, there’s nothing quite like hearing or reading it directly from clients themselves.

Need more convincing about the power of social proof? Read Phil’s blog about avoiding the ‘Amazon trap’ and developing truly authentic social proof.

Add: Real people

With millions of stock images available to use online, it can seem like an obvious route to go down when choosing photos for your website. We beg to differ!

There’s nothing quite like seeing the faces of real team members and clients as you scroll through a website.

If you’re feeling a little camera shy, then check out Luke’s blog post for why you need to do a stock photography photoshoot.

Remove: Dated images

You know the ones I’m talking about. Photography can be an afterthought for some people, but we believe that well-thought-through photography can really lift a website and take it from a 7 out of 10, to a 10 out of 10.

Say goodbye to those stock images that have had their day and update your team headshots – these tiny tweaks will make a world of difference.

Add: Easily accessible contact forms

If you’re scratching your head wondering why you’re not getting many new enquiries through your website, take a step back and consider how easy it is for people to get in touch.

There’s absolutely no reason to make it complicated for people!

Contact details or a simple form should appear on every page, so no matter where they may land, they won’t have any difficulty getting in touch. It’s an easy win.

Add: Client-orientated copy

When a prospective client lands on your website, the first thing they want to do is to be able to identify with what they see, and the best way to do that is through the power of copy.

If somebody doesn’t identify with what they’re reading and seeing, they will click the ‘X’ button in an instant. That’s why your website copy mustn’t be cold, they need to resonate with every single word on there.

So that means less “We” and more “You”.

Remove: Too much copy

People are coming to your website to learn more about what you do and how you can help them, they’re not here to read a mini novel.

You can easily condense down everything you have to say and present it in a way that’s clear and easily digestible. Bullet points, boxes and small paragraphs are your best friends.

Add: Your passion and story

As we mentioned, people are coming to your website to hear about themselves and see their problems and needs identified through the content. But that’s not to say that you can’t let your passion and personality shine through.

Done in the right way, your story allows people to connect with you even further and is the differentiator between you and another IFA.

Add: Calls to action

“Find out more”, “Get in touch” and “View all” are examples of calls to action that you may find on the website. Chances are, you’ve never paid much attention to these… until now!

It’s not exactly rocket science. These buttons encourage the user to click around and explore your snazzy website and discover the value you can bring to their lives. It can be the determining factor between a lead and a conversion.

Remove: Broken links

There’s nothing more frustrating than clicking on something and it a) Leads you to the wrong page or b) Not doing anything at all.

The solution is simple. Spend 10 minutes every now and then checking all the links on your website so that no one else has to experience the frustration!

Add: Team page

Let’s face it, we’re all a little nosy sometimes. Our research backs this up as we found that the team pages on a financial adviser’s website will be one of the five most popular.

Team pages put a face to the names within the business and help to create an immediate connection before they’ve even met you, meaning prospective clients may be more comfortable when they first talk to you.

You don’t have to give everyone’s life story on these team pages, either. We have various ideas we recommended to our clients based on how comfortable you and your team are.

Remove: Social media icons

We get it, you want to promote your social media channel and build up your followers. But your website isn’t the place to do that. There’s a very good chance that when they click on that Facebook or LinkedIn icon they won’t return to your website.

As we previously said, your website is your shop window and you want people to come inside and explore what you have to offer, not be tempted by another shop next door. There’s a time and place for everything, and that includes social media icons.

Get in touch

Now you’ve read our tips, go and take a look at your website to see how many of these you need to add and how many need removing.

Then, if you’d like our help, please get in touch by emailing hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk or calling 0115 8965 300.