Pages a financial adviser's website should have

Most financial advice websites fail in the same boring way. They say a lot and answer nothing. A visitor lands, sees a stock photo of a handshake and a line about "your future", and leaves without knowing what you do, what it costs, or whether you're allowed to do it.

So here's the fix. Eleven pages, each with one job. Some you'll build in an afternoon. Others take a conversation with your compliance contact first. Either way, you don't need to be a marketer. You need to be clear, accurate and easy to reach.

Purpose: Tell a stranger, in a few seconds, who you are, what you do, who you do it for and how to get in touch.

That's the whole job. Put one plain sentence at the top that says what the firm does and where. "Independent financial advice for families and business owners in [your area]" beats any slogan. Follow it with a short list of the main things you advise on, each linking to the page that covers it in detail. Add a clear button to the enquiry page, and put your phone number somewhere obvious.

Then state your regulatory status accurately. If you're authorised, say so and say how a visitor can check it. A short line near the footer is fine, with a fuller explanation on the regulation page. If you're a limited company, the registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered must be on the site too (GOV.UK). The footer is the usual home for that.

Keep it to one screen's worth of real content above the fold. Photos of your actual office or team beat generic imagery. And read it on your phone before you publish. If you have to pinch and scroll, so will everyone else.

Avoid vague promises, jargon, and anything that sounds like a guarantee about returns or outcomes. Avoid a rotating banner of five messages; nobody reads past the first. Avoid burying your phone number three clicks deep. And don't publish any claim about performance until you've taken advice from your compliance contact.

Purpose: Set out exactly what the firm advises on, and nothing it isn't authorised to do.

This is the page that stops wasted enquiries. Someone looking for mortgage help shouldn't spend twenty minutes with you before finding out you don't do mortgages. So be specific and be honest.

List each area you genuinely advise on: retirement planning, investments, protection, inheritance planning, whatever applies to your firm. Give each its own short section, or its own page if you have plenty to say. For each one, explain in plain English what the advice involves, who it tends to suit, and what a client can expect from working with you on it. Write it the way you'd explain it across the desk.

Be just as clear about what you don't do. A line like "We don't advise on X; if you need that, we'll tell you so at the first conversation" saves everyone time and builds goodwill. If something is outside your permissions, leave it off the page entirely, or say plainly that it's outside what you do.

If you're unsure whether a service falls within your firm's permissions, check your status on the FCA's Financial Services Register or ask your compliance contact before you write a word about it.

Avoid listing services you only occasionally touch. Avoid copying the same paragraph onto ten pages with the town name swapped. Google's spam policies treat many near-duplicate pages made mainly to manipulate rankings as spam, so every page you add must carry something genuinely different. And avoid technical language that reads like a policy document.

Purpose: Explain how you get paid, honestly and without making people phone to find out.

Nobody enjoys hunting for the price of advice. If your site hides it, visitors assume the worst. If it explains it, you've already done something many firms won't.

Say how you charge. Is it a fixed fee for the initial advice? An ongoing fee for reviews? A percentage of assets under management? A mix? Describe the structure in plain words, then explain what the client gets for each part. If the first meeting is free, say so. If it isn't, say that too.

You don't have to publish a full price list if your fees vary. But you do have to describe how they're worked out, and you should never invent a figure you can't stand behind. If you quote an example, make sure it reflects what you really charge, and check the wording with your compliance contact first.

Explain what happens if the client decides advice isn't right for them. Explain how they'll be told about costs before they commit, in writing. A short, calm paragraph on this does more for trust than any badge.

Avoid weasel words like "competitive" or "transparent" with nothing under them. Avoid burying charges in a PDF nobody opens. Avoid fee examples you haven't checked against your real terms. And avoid making the page read like small print designed to be skimmed past.

Purpose: Walk a nervous newcomer through what actually happens, step by step, so the first contact feels easy.

They don't know whether to bring documents, whether they'll be pushed into anything, or how long it takes. Your job is to take the mystery out.

Lay it out in order. Start with the first meeting: how long it lasts, where it happens (in person, by phone, by video), what you'll ask about, and what, if anything, they should bring. Then explain how you move from that conversation to advice: how you gather the information, how long it usually takes, and how the recommendations are presented. Then cover ongoing reviews: how often you meet, what you look at, and how clients can reach you in between.

Use short steps, maybe numbered, with a sentence or two each. Be honest about timescales; if something takes weeks, say weeks. If there's no obligation after the first meeting, say it, but only if it's true.

A short note on what the client is expected to do helps too. Advice works better when people know their part.

Avoid vague phrases like "a tailored journey" or "a holistic approach" that tell nobody anything. Avoid promising outcomes at any stage. Avoid skipping the ongoing part; if reviews are what clients pay for, explain them. And avoid a process so detailed it reads like a legal document.

Purpose: State your regulatory status accurately and show people how to confirm it for themselves.

This page is short, but it does real work. Anyone considering handing over their savings or pension planning will want to know you're properly authorised. Make it easy to verify.

Say what your firm is authorised to do and by whom, using the exact wording from your authorisation. Don't paraphrase it into something grander. Give your firm's reference number if you have one, and explain that anyone can check your status on the FCA's Financial Services Register. Add a link to it. Telling people how to check you is a confident move, and it costs you nothing.

Tell your compliance contact you're building this page. They'll know the correct wording for your firm, including any additional status statements you need. If you're a limited company, repeat the registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered, as required by GOV.UK.

It also helps to mention that financial promotions by authorised firms must be fair, clear and not misleading. That applies to everything on your site, not just this page, so treat this one as the standard for the rest.

Avoid stating your status loosely or implying approval you don't have. Avoid logos or badges that suggest endorsement beyond what's accurate. Avoid hiding this page in the footer with a tiny link. And don't publish any statement about returns or outcomes without taking advice from your compliance contact first.

Purpose: Make it easy for a ready visitor to ask for a conversation, without friction or confusion.

This is where the work of every other page pays off, so don't spoil it with a clumsy form. Keep it short. Name, email, phone number, a brief message about what they'd like help with, and a clear button. Every extra field costs you enquiries.

Say what happens next. "We'll reply within one working day" is only worth writing if it's true. Tell people whether you'll call or email, and roughly when. Give an alternative for those who'd rather phone: your number, right there, with opening hours.

Add one reassurance line, such as that the first conversation is the place to find out whether you can help. Only include claims about cost or obligation that match your real terms.

Remind visitors not to put sensitive details, such as account numbers or full financial histories, into a web form. Say you'll discuss that properly in conversation. And check with your compliance contact on how enquiries should be handled and stored.

Test it yourself. Fill it in on a phone. Send one to yourself and see how long the reply takes.

Avoid long forms that read like an application. Avoid a "submit" button that leads nowhere visible. Avoid asking for information you don't need yet. And avoid leaving the page without a confirmation message; people will wonder whether it worked.

Purpose: Answer the questions clients actually ask, in plain English, without giving personal advice.

The best material for this page is already in your inbox and in your notes from meetings. What do people ask in the first call? What worries them? What do they misunderstand? Those are your questions. Use their wording, not yours.

Aim for a modest, useful list rather than a sprawling one. Answer each in a few sentences. Typical subjects: what the first meeting involves, how long advice takes, what documents to bring and how fees work. Then how to complain, plus how to check your authorisation. Link each answer to the full page where it belongs.

The line to hold is simple. General information is fine. Personal advice is not. "Should I move my pension?" can't be answered on a web page, because the honest answer depends entirely on the person asking. Say that. Point them to a conversation instead.

Keep it current. Review the page every few months. If your fees, process or contact details change, the FAQs are often where the old information hides.

Avoid inventing questions nobody asks just to fill space. Avoid answers that drift into recommending a product or course of action. Avoid copying generic answers from another firm's site. And avoid anything that sounds like a promise about what will happen to someone's money.

Purpose: Let people see who they'd be dealing with, so the first meeting feels like meeting someone they already half know.

Clients hand over a lot of trust, and a name and a face help. Give each adviser a short profile: who they are, what they do at the firm, and how long they've been in practice, if that's accurate. Add a clear photo. A short paragraph on what they enjoy about the work reads better than a list of letters.

Only include qualifications you can verify and the person has agreed to publish. Use the exact wording for any professional designation. If you're not certain how it should be written, ask the person or your compliance contact.

Ask first. Every adviser should agree to their name, photo and biography being on the site, and to the wording of it. That's both courteous and sensible, particularly if someone later leaves the firm and wants their details removed. Build in a habit of updating the page when staff change.

Write it in a human voice. "Based in the office, usually the first person you'll speak to" says more than "a dedicated professional with a passion for excellence".

Avoid publishing anyone's details without their agreement. Avoid inflated titles or credentials you can't back up. Avoid copying a template biography across the whole team. And avoid personal claims about results or client outcomes.

Purpose: Show real feedback from real clients, presented honestly.

Reviews help only if they're genuine. So the rule is simple: real ones only, from real clients, with their permission where you're quoting them on your own site.

Decide where reviews will live. You might link to the ones on your Google Business Profile, or quote a few on a page of your own. Either way, show them as they were written. Don't tidy up the wording into something more flattering. Don't pick only the glowing ones and bury the rest without thought; if there's a critical review, a calm, professional reply is often more convincing than silence.

Check with your compliance contact before using any testimonial that mentions returns, performance or specific outcomes. A kind comment about how you explained things is one matter. A claim about what someone's money did is quite another.

Ask for feedback in an ordinary way. A short note after a review meeting, with a link, is enough. Don't offer rewards in return, and never write reviews yourself or ask a friend to.

If you have no reviews yet, leave the page off until you do. An empty reviews page looks worse than none.

Avoid fake or invented reviews, full stop. Avoid editing a client's words. Avoid quoting anything that implies results. And avoid asking clients to say specific things.

Purpose: Give people every sensible way to reach you, laid out so nobody has to hunt.

Keep this one plain. Put your phone number, email address and postal address at the top. Add your opening hours, including any variations for holidays. If you see clients by appointment only, say that. If you offer meetings by phone or video, say that too.

Include a map or simple directions if clients visit you in person. Mention parking, public transport, step-free access, anything that would otherwise be a worry on the day. These small details prevent awkward phone calls and missed appointments.

If you're a limited company, make sure the registered company name, registered number, registered office address and where you're registered appear on the site, as GOV.UK requires. The contact page and footer are the natural places.

Use the same details everywhere: on the site, on your Google Business Profile, on your letters and emails. If one says one thing and another says something else, people notice.

Check it works. Ring the number. Send an email to the address. Load the page on a phone.

Avoid a contact form as the only option. Avoid listing a number nobody answers. Avoid out-of-date hours. And avoid a page that gives an address but no hint of how to find the door.

Purpose: Make sure people searching for an adviser nearby find accurate, up-to-date details about your firm.

This is a free listing, and for local firms it matters. For context, "financial adviser near me" is estimated at around 1,600 UK searches a month, nationally, not per town (DataForSEO, 18 October 2026). Treat that as a rough estimate, not a forecast for your area. The related terms are tiny: "seo for financial advisers" around 50, "financial adviser marketing" around 20, and "financial adviser website" around 10. Those are estimates too.

Set it up properly. Google's guidelines say to use the real-world business name shown on your shopfront, website and stationery. Don't add keywords to the name. You can't pay for a better local ranking, so don't believe anyone who says you can. And keep your hours up to date, including holiday hours.

Match your address, phone number and website to what's on the site. Pick accurate categories. Add real photos of your office or entrance. Link to your enquiry page. Respond to reviews, politely and briefly.

Check with the relevant regulator or your compliance contact if you're unsure how your regulatory status should be shown on the listing.

Avoid stuffing the business name with extra words. Avoid claiming a location you don't operate from. Avoid letting the opening hours go stale. And avoid assuming it's finished once it's live; it needs a glance every few months.

If you're starting from scratch, build in this order:

1. Home page: say who you are, what you do and how to reach you.
2. What we advise on: list only what your firm is authorised to do.
3. Regulation: state your status accurately and show how to check it.
4. Enquiry page: a short form and a phone number, with clear next steps.
5. Google Business Profile: accurate details that match the website.

Everything else can follow. These five give a stranger enough to decide whether to get in touch.

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 decide what to build next.