Pages a bookkeeper's website should have

Most bookkeeper websites say the same thing. "Friendly, reliable, affordable." It tells a stranger nothing. A better site does one job: it lets a small business owner work out, fast, whether you can help them and what to do next.

So here's the plan. Eleven pages, each with a purpose, a few things to put on it, and a few things to leave off. You don't need all of them on day one, and you shouldn't build any page for a service you don't offer. Build what's true. Skip the rest.

Purpose: Tell a visitor who you are, who you help and what to do next, in the first few seconds.

The home page is a signpost, not a brochure. Put one plain sentence at the top that says what you do and for whom. Something like "Bookkeeping and payroll for small businesses in [your area]". Swap in your real services and your real area. No slogans.

Below that, give a short list of what you do, each item linking to its own page. Add one clear way to get in touch: a button to the enquiry page and a phone number if you're happy to take calls. Put them where the eye lands without scrolling.

Add a line or two on who you work with, then a short note on how you work. Link through to those pages rather than repeating them here.

If you're a limited company, the home page or footer should carry your registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered. GOV.UK says UK limited companies must show these on their website. Sole traders should check what applies to them with the relevant authority.

Avoid long welcome speeches, stock photos of handshakes, a list of every service you've ever touched, and a wall of text before the visitor knows what you do. Avoid a rotating banner that hides your message. Avoid making the visitor hunt for your contact details.

Purpose: Say exactly what you do, so the right people recognise themselves and the wrong ones don't waste your time.

List only the work you actually carry out. For most bookkeepers that's some mix of bookkeeping, payroll, VAT returns and software set-up. If you do three of those four, list three.

Give each service a short paragraph. Say what it covers in everyday terms. For bookkeeping, that might be recording income and spending, reconciling the bank and keeping records tidy for whoever prepares the accounts. For payroll, say what you handle and what the client still does. For VAT returns, say whether you prepare them, submit them, or both. For software set-up, say which setups you help with and whether you train the client afterwards.

Be clear about edges. If you don't do tax advice or year-end accounts, say so, and say who the client might go to instead. That's honest, and it saves everyone a wasted call.

If a service deserves more room, give it its own page. Only do that if you have something real to say on it.

Avoid listing services you only half offer, or ones you'd have to pass to someone else. Avoid jargon the client wouldn't use themselves. Avoid copying the same paragraph across several pages with one word changed. Google's spam policies treat many near-duplicate pages made mainly to manipulate rankings as spam, so every page must carry something genuinely different.

Purpose: Help the right client spot themselves in a sentence or two.

Name the types of business you serve. Be as specific as the truth allows: sole traders, small limited companies, landlords, tradespeople, shops, whatever is genuinely your mix. If you lean towards a sector because you know it well, say so and say why. If you've got no particular specialism, don't invent one.

Describe the stage or size too. Maybe you suit people who are tired of a shoebox of receipts. Maybe you suit growing firms who've outgrown a spreadsheet. Write it the way you'd say it to someone across a table.

It helps to say who you're not right for. Maybe you don't take on large firms with in-house finance teams, or you don't do one-off catch-ups. Saying so isn't unfriendly. It spares people a pointless enquiry.

Mention where you work. Fully remote across the UK? Local visits? Both? Say it plainly.

Avoid "we work with businesses of all sizes in all sectors". It means nothing. Avoid naming clients, quoting testimonials or describing client situations unless you have real ones and clear permission. Avoid claiming a specialism you haven't earned.

Purpose: Take the fear out of getting started by showing exactly what happens, step by step.

Many small business owners put off hiring a bookkeeper because they don't know what they're signing up to. This page answers that. Walk through it in order.

Start with onboarding. What happens after someone says yes? Perhaps a short call, an engagement letter, access to their bank feed or accounting software, and a catch-up on the records so far. Write down your real steps, not a tidy-looking template.

Then describe the monthly routine. When do you do the work? What does the client get at the end of it: a summary, a call, a message saying all is well? How do they reach you in between?

Finally, list what you need from the client. Be practical: receipts, invoices, bank access, a login, a deadline for sending things over. Say what happens if something's late.

A numbered list works well here, because it really is a sequence. Keep each step to a line or two.

Avoid vague promises like "a seamless, hassle-free experience". Avoid steps you don't really follow. Avoid hiding the client's own responsibilities; people respect knowing their part. Avoid making it sound longer or more complicated than it is.

Purpose: Explain how you work out a fee, so nobody has to guess or feel awkward asking.

You don't have to publish a price list. But you do owe visitors some idea of how pricing works. Say whether you charge a fixed monthly fee, an hourly rate, or a quote per job. Explain what moves the price: how many transactions there are, whether payroll is included, how tidy the records are to begin with, how often you meet.

Say how a quote happens. Is there a free call? A short form? Do you ask to see a sample of records first? Tell people what you'll need from them to give a figure, and roughly how fast you'll come back.

If you do have set prices, put in only your real ones, kept up to date. If you don't, don't make a number up to look transparent. A clear explanation of your method does the job without one.

Mention how you invoice and how clients pay, if that's useful. Same with notice periods and anything that would surprise someone later.

Avoid "competitive rates" and "affordable pricing"; they're empty. Avoid listing prices that are out of date. Avoid hiding extra charges until the engagement letter. Avoid making people phone just to learn the basics of how you charge.

Purpose: Let a prospective client know whether you work with the tools they already have, or the ones they'd move to.

This is a short page, and a useful one. Name the accounting and payroll software you genuinely use day to day. If you only use two products, list two. Don't pad it with logos of packages you've opened once.

For each, say what you use it for and what that means for the client. Do they get their own login? Can they see their figures any time? Do you set it up for them, or do they need to have it already? Say whether you'll work in their existing software or ask them to switch.

If you offer set-up or migration, link back to your services page. If you offer training for the client or their staff, say so and say in what form.

Be straight about limits. If a client uses a package you don't support, say you'd need to talk first, and don't promise you'll "work with anything". If you're not an official partner or certified adviser for a product, don't imply you are.

Avoid listing software you haven't used for real work. Avoid tool-name soup with no explanation. Avoid claiming accreditation you don't hold. Avoid making the page read like an advert for the software company.

Purpose: Show what you've actually earned or joined, in a way anyone can check.

Only list what's real and current. That might be a membership of a professional body, a qualification, or a software certification you hold. Name it in full, say what it is in a few plain words, and link to the body's own register or directory, so the visitor can confirm it themselves. Checkable beats impressive.

Supervision matters here too. GOV.UK lists accountancy service providers as supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes by HMRC if they are not supervised by a professional body. Check with HMRC or your professional body whether this applies to you, and state your supervision only if it's accurate. Don't state anything else about the rules unless you've confirmed it with them.

Other rules may apply to how you describe your title or work. If you're unsure, ask your local council or the relevant regulator rather than guessing.

Keep it short. A few honest lines with working links will do more than a page of badges.

Avoid logos or letters after your name that you're not entitled to use. Avoid "fully qualified" or "certified" with nothing behind it. Avoid listing expired memberships. Avoid links that go nowhere. If you're not a member of anything, leave this page out; don't dress something up to fill it.

Purpose: Make it easy for a ready visitor to ask for help, with as little friction as possible.

This is where the whole site pays off. Keep it simple. A short form, plus a phone number and an email address. Offer more than one way in if you can.

Ask only what you need to reply sensibly: name, contact details, a line about the business and what they want help with. A few optional prompts can help, such as the type of business, whether they're VAT registered and which software they use. But every extra field costs you enquiries, so keep each one earning its place.

Tell people what happens next. "We'll reply within one working day" only works if it's true; promise only what you can keep. Say if you offer a free initial chat and how long it takes.

Add a sentence on privacy: what you do with the details they send. If you're unsure what you need to say, check with the relevant regulator.

Test the form yourself on a phone. Send yourself a message and make sure it arrives.

Avoid long forms that read like a tax return. Avoid a contact page that's just an email address buried in small print. Avoid auto-replies that promise things you can't deliver. Avoid sending people to a page with no way to act.

Purpose: Answer the questions clients genuinely ask, so you stop answering them one at a time.

The best source is your own inbox and call history. What do new clients ask before they sign? What confuses them after? Write those down, in their words, and answer each in a few short sentences.

Typical topics might be how long it takes to get started, what you need to see, how you handle a backlog, who files what and when, how you keep their data safe, and what happens if they leave. Use whichever of those are real for you, and add the ones that aren't on any list.

Be honest in the answers. If the answer is "it depends", say what it depends on. If you can't do something, say so and point to who can.

Group the questions if there are a lot, and keep each answer self-contained so people can jump straight to the one they want. Update the page when you notice new questions coming in.

Avoid inventing questions nobody asked. Avoid answers that are really adverts. Avoid copying generic FAQs from other firms, which tend to fit nobody. Avoid leaving the page to go stale; an old answer on prices or process does harm.

Purpose: Show there's a real person behind the site, and make you easy to find.

Say who you are, how you came to bookkeeping and who you like working with. Keep it plain and a bit personal. A recent, honest photo helps people feel they're hiring a human, not a faceless firm. Only include one if you're comfortable with it.

Cover the practical basics: how long you've been doing this (only if you know the true figure), where you're based, how you work with clients, and how to reach you. Put your contact details on the page itself, plus opening or working hours if you set them.

If you're a limited company, make sure the legal details are shown here or in the footer: registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where registered. GOV.UK says UK limited companies must show them.

Keep the name, address and phone number identical everywhere: on the site, on your stationery and on your Google listing. Mismatches confuse people and make you look careless.

Avoid a life story that never mentions what you do. Avoid listing credentials you haven't covered elsewhere. Avoid an address you don't want people turning up at, if you work from home; talk about the area you cover instead. Avoid hiding your phone number to dodge calls.

Purpose: Be findable when someone nearby is looking for a bookkeeper, with details that match your website.

The 1,600 monthly searches for "bookkeeper near me" are a UK-wide estimate (DataForSEO, 18 October 2026), not a count for your town. Treat it as a hint that people look locally, nothing more. The smaller figures, 40 for "bookkeeper marketing", 20 for "bookkeeper website" and 10 for "seo for bookkeepers", are national monthly estimates too. Small numbers; no promises attached.

Set up your profile and fill it in properly. Follow Google's guidelines: use the real-world business name shown on your shopfront, website and stationery, and don't add extra words to the name to stand out. You can't pay for a better local ranking, so don't be sold one. Keep your hours up to date, holiday hours included.

Check the basics match your website: name, address or service area, phone number, services, website link. Add a short description of what you actually do. Pick the category that fits. Add photos if you have honest ones to share.

If you work from home and don't see clients there, check Google's guidelines on how to set that up rather than guessing. Look at the profile every so often. Things go stale quickly.

Avoid stuffing the business name with extra words. Avoid fake reviews or asking friends to post glowing ones. Avoid leaving old hours up. Avoid creating several near-identical profiles or area pages; each page must carry something genuinely different.

Don't try to launch everything at once. Build in this order:

1. Home page: say what you do, for whom, and how to get in touch.
2. Services: list only the work you really carry out.
3. Enquiry page: a short, working form, with a phone number and email.
4. Google Business Profile: set it up and match it to your site.
5. How it works: show the steps, so nobody's guessing.

Everything else can follow as time allows. A small, accurate site beats a big one full of padding.

Not sure which of these pages you're short of, or what to say on them? Seracu offers a free snapshot that shows which topics your site lacks compared with competitors. It's a quick way to see where the gaps are before you start writing.