Grow Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress – 2

This is part 2 of a series of articles focused on helping accountants and financial service professionals grow their business online and provides a comprehensive list of WordPress plugins and themes for accounting and finance-related businesses.

How To Drive Clients To Your Accounting Business Online With WordPress Plugins And ThemesIn Part One of this step-by-step article on ways to improve your accounting business web presence, we provided many practical tips and suggestions on the following topics:

  • Online Challenges For Accounting Businesses
  • Opportunities For The Accounting Profession In The Online Economy
  • Essential Website Pages
  • Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Site

In this section, we discuss more ways to grow your accounting business online. Areas covered below include:

  • Ways Of Improving Traffic With WordPress
  • Generate Leads & Enquiries Using WordPress
  • WordPress Plugins & Themes That Can Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Increase Traffic Generation

Important

For more information about WordPress plugins and themes, see the articles below:

Tips For Accountants – Improving Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Drive More Web Traffic Using Plugins & Themes

Your web traffic is vital to your online business growth. In this section we explore ways to help you improve your web traffic using WordPress.

Optimize Your Site For SEO

There are loads of ways that WordPress helps optimize your accounting or financial services website for search engines:

  • SEO-Friendly – Set the permalinks to create search engine-optimized web addresses for your article pages.
  • Tags – Specify the keywords that you want search engines to index your article pages for.
  • Post Categories – Add categories for your posts and products.
  • Post Excerpts – WordPress lets you compose descriptions for your posts that will show to search engine users.
  • Images – title your images with keywords for improved search engine results.
  • Internal Linking – WordPress provides a built-in feature that allows you to easily create internal links for faster indexing of your content
  • Post Notification – Configure your site to automatically notify (ping) other sites and directories whenever a new post is published on your website.

Improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Improve User Engagement And Increase Traffic Generation With WordPress Plugins

In addition to the built-in features of WordPress, the WP developer community makes available also a number of plugins that will improve your accounting website’s SEO, increase user engagement and drive more traffic to your site.

Here are some plugins you can use to improve your SEO:

Use a plugin like Yoast SEO to improve your SEO

(A plugin like Yoast SEO (previously known as WordPress SEO by Yoast) can improve your site’s SEO)

Other things you can do to improve your accounting site’s SEO, increase user engagement and drive more web traffic to your site are to add a forum, newsletters, comments, and social sharing features. Here are some plugins that can help (many of the plugins described below are also free):

  • BuddyPress – This free WordPress plugin allows you to set up and manage a social networking community on your website, with member profiles, user groups, messaging, activity streams, and more.
  • bbPress – Set up your own online forum on WordPress.
  • E-Newsletter – This plugin lets you send email newsletters, track results and manage subscribers from your WordPress dashboard.
  • Disqus – This WordPress plugin lets you power discussions and helps to increase engagement on your site.
  • Social Media Feather – Use this plugin to add social buttons and features that allow visitors to share your content online on your site.

You can easily add social features to your website with free or inexpensive plugins

(WordPress users can easily add social sharing features to their website with free or inexpensive plugins)

Generate New Leads & Enquiries With WordPress

Let’s now discuss ways to improve your sales and generate leads and enquiries.

Providing An Email Newsletter

Adding an email newsletter is an excellent way to build a subscriber list. It] provides a number of benefits and advantages, like:

  • Drives targeted traffic
  • Keeps readers from forgetting about you
  • Provides useful updates
  • Provides you with a targeted marketing channel
  • It’s a way to offer special products or services to a select audience
  • Increases interaction
  • Provides you with additional ways for subscribers to share your content

A proven strategy for attracting subscribers is to provide high value content and give users free gifts or bonus items in exchange for their personal details. This can be a guide, tips for handling tax, access to financial calculators, coupons, membership access to subscriber-only content, contests, etc.

Provide A Contact Form

A contact form provides an easy and simple way for prospective customers to contact you. A contact form also lets users provide feedback, ask questions to specific departments, ask for quotes, give suggestions for improvements and more.

A contact form provides a number of benefits including:

  • Reducing spam
  • Set up automated responses
  • Gives you control over what gets sent to you
  • You can keep your email address private
  • Can be added to any page or post
  • Looks professional
  • Convenient for visitors

A very popular contact form plugin is Contact Form 7.

Contact Form 7

Contact Form 7 Plugin

(Contact Form 7 – WordPress Plugin)

This free contact form plugin allows you to insert multiple contact forms, customize your form and the mail contents, add fields, and more.

International languages, Ajax-powered submitting, CAPTCHA, and spam filtering is also supported.

Something to consider is to segment your contact form so visitors can choose which topic they want to discuss. This ensures that contact form requests reach the right person.

Add Maps

Maps help your visitors and clients find you.

Adding maps (e.g. Google Maps) to your WordPress site also provides users with a number of benefits, such as:

  • They improve local SEO
  • Visitors can easily find you
  • Displays location of events

A map helps your visitors and clients find you

(Adding a map helps your visitors and clients find you)

Popular Google Maps plugins include:

WordPress Plugins For Improving Search Engine Optimization, Increasing User Engagement And Driving More Web Traffic

WordPress Plugins For Accounting Businesses

WordPress lets you add a number of plugins to your accounting or financial services site to immediately add a range of practical tools for users. Here are just some of these plugins:

Calculator Pro Calculators

Calculator Pro Calculators

(Calculator Pro Calculators WP Plugin)

This is a free collection of over 400 calculators. You can embed them into your pages, posts, or sidebars using shortcodes. Internationalization is supported.

Note: Most of the calculators aren’t focused specifically on accounting, but there are quite a few for:

  • Interest rate
  • Rate of return
  • Leases
  • Equity
  • And many more

For more details, go here}:

Show Stock Quotes

Show Stock Quotes WP Plugin

(Show Stock Quotes – WordPress Plugin)

This plugin lets you add a widget that displays a number of different stock quotes per portfolio. You can display as many widgets as you want.

Show Stock Quotes

(Show Stock Quotes Plugin – Stock Portfolio)

For more details, go here}:

Custom Stock Ticker

Custom Stock Ticker Plugin For WordPress

(Custom Stock Ticker)

This free plugin lets you place custom stock tickers on any post, page or sidebar with shortcodes.

Custom Stock ticker includes several customizable features. Choose from built-in skins or customize these yourself to match your website. You can also add custom stocks to specific categories.

Appearance customizations include colours, speed, text, etc.

For more details, go here}:

Finance Calculator

Finance Calculator - WordPress Plugin

(Finance Calculator)

This free calculator allows your users to calculate indicative repayments. This is a useful tool for calculating repayments on car loans, property, or other large loans.

Finance Calculator Plugin For WordPress

(Finance Calculator – WordPress Plugin – Loan Calculator)

The plugin also contains an application form that sends a notification message to the email address you specify.

It will show payment protection, calculate 12 to 60 months loans and create forms that can be placed in any page or post.

For more details, go here}:

WP-Invoice

WP-Invoice Plugin

(WP-Invoice Plugin)

WP-Invoice is ideal for WordPress business users with clients to bill.

This plugin lets you integrate billing into WordPress. You can send out itemized invoices, set up recurring billing and expand functionality with free and premium add-ons, like business location, electronic signature, PDF creation, quote creation, single-page checkout forms, and more.

The plugin ties into WP’s user management database to keep track of clients and their information, and integrates with PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2Checkout, Interkassa, and others.

Plugin features include adding custom payments and charges, inserting pre-defined line items and discounts, viewing invoice status and progression, easily filtering and finding invoices, showing invoice receipts and invoice history, creating notification e-mail templates, viewing reports (collected vs uncollected invoices, most valuable clients and top grossing line items), and more..

For more details, go here}:

All In One Business Management Application

All In One Business Management Application

(All In One Business Management Application Plugin For WordPress)

This is a complete business management system that includes accounting management, invoicing, order management, help desk with ticketing management system, CRM and many additional features.

All In One Business Management Application

(All In One Business Management Application Plugin For WordPress – Invoicing)

The plugin supports international languages, is fully customizable and provides powerful tools such as document management, to do app, and more.

For more details, go here}:

iBilling – Accounting And Billing Software

iBilling - Accounting and Billing Software WP Plugin

(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software)

iBilling is a scalable business software that lets you manage customer data and invoices, track your company’s net worth and cash flow, and lots more.

iBilling - Accounting and Billing Software - WordPress Plugin - Invoicing

(iBilling – Accounting and Billing Software Plugin – Invoicing)

It integrates with several online payment gateways.

For more details, go here}:

WordPress Themes For Accounting

To get the most benefit out of growing your business online with WordPress, it’s best to choose a theme specifically suited for accounting businesses. Below is a list of some of the best themes themes available for accountancy firms. With these themes you can own a professional-looking accounting website within minutes and save hundreds to thousands of dollars on the cost of website design.

Accounting Pro

Accounting Pro

(Accounting Pro WordPress Theme)

This premium theme is a turn-key theme developed for accountants and accounting firms. It’s responsive, has a drag-and-drop page-builder, offers several page templates, custom menu features, a content composer (which improves on the standard WordPress editor), a sidebar manager, auto-resizing for images, and lots more.

You can customize Accounting Pro by installing premium add-ons.

For more details, go here:

Accountancy

Accountancy - WordPress Theme

(Accountancy)

This inexpensive theme has a variety of styles and layouts that helps give your accounting website a professional look and feel.

This fully responsive theme includes a custom slider, a featured testimonial section, it’s lightweight, search optimized, and fast loading. Accountancy Theme provides the flexibility you need without bloating your theme with features you don’t need. The cost of purchase includes free updates and 1 year of support.

Go here for more information:

Accounting

Accounting WP Theme

(Accounting – WordPress Theme)

This premium theme includes a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to design your site any way you want. It also provides unlimited sidebars with custom widgets, four different header types, a custom admin panel, four color schemes, custom slider, three different blog types, and is fully responsive (mobile-friendly). Accountancy looks clean and modern and loads fast.

For more details about this theme, go here:

Kathryn

Kathryn Theme For WordPress

(Kathryn WP Theme)

This one is built for accountants. The theme allows you to use WordPress as a true CMS and comes with a slider, multiple layouts, multiple sidebars, many colors, is easy to use, search optimized, and is fully responsive (mobile-friendly). Although it could easily suit any profession, it builds a great looking accounting theme. It includes a license for the Soliloquy WordPress responsive slider plugin and is a separate purchase from the Genesis Framework.

For more details, go here:

Accounting WordPress Theme

Accounting WordPress Theme - WordPress Theme

(Accounting WordPress Theme)

This premium WordPress theme was created to enhance professionalism within the accounting industry. It features an authoritative color scheme and elements specifically designed to make your accounting website look professional without looking dull. It’s a turn-key installation but you can still modify it if you want. It’s responsive (mobile-friendly) and includes pages for your services, contact section with consultation requests (downloadable as a CSV file), testimonials section, and a blog.

For more information, go here:

WP Advocate

WP Advocate WP Theme

(WP Advocate – WordPress Theme)

WP Advocate is a corporate theme built for professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys. You can use the theme’s bundled images or upload your own. It includes a custom post type adding employee profiles and can also integrate with BeSpoke profile templates. It’s a clean and fast-loading theme.

To learn more about using this WordPress theme, go here:

Divi

Divi - WordPress Theme

(Divi – WordPress Theme)

This premium theme for WordPress is the most flexible theme in Elegant Themes‘ entire collection. Divi lets you create a unique, professional website using its page builder or pre-made layouts. You can modify your layout as much as you need.

Divi’s page builder transforms web elements into visual building blocks, allowing anyone to understand and redesign the structure of their web pages without editing any code.

Divi WordPress Theme - Page Builder

(Divi Theme For WordPress – Flexible Page Builder)

It has 40 content modules that you can drag and drop anywhere you want. These modules include bar counter, blog, contact form, email optin, image, login, person, slider, tabs, video, fullwidth header, fullwidth map, fullwidth post title, and more.. Divi is fully responsive and completely customizable. Themes start at $69 per year and includes access to 80+ beautifully-designed themes.

More info:

The Corporation

The Corporation Theme

(The Corporation WP Theme)

This premium WordPress theme from Elegant Themes was built specifically to make corporate sites look good.

This theme has a page-based home page design with a nice slider. It also has a blog design and features that toggle on and off. It has 6 unique  color schemes. It also has multiple page templates that include contact pages, blog feeds, sitemaps, search page, gallery page, and more. Theme prices start at $69 per year and includes full access to over 80 professional themes.

Go here to learn more this WordPress theme:

Adviser

Adviser

(Adviser WordPress Theme)

This premium theme was specifically built to help finance industry professionals build trust online through clean web design. It’s ideal for those that provide services like investments or tax advice. The Adviser theme includes a recruitment page with hiring announcements and where to send applications. It also includes a built-in lease calculator. It includes widgets and multiple shortcodes, and includes the drag-and-drop visual composer.

Go here for more info:

Tax Help

Tax Help

(Tax Help Theme)

Tax Help was developed specifically for financial organizations, tax and finance advisors, and firms that offer tax services. It’s designed to showcase your services professionally to help build your business reputation. It provides different blog styles, uses the drag-and-drop visual composer, includes a shortcode builder, the Revolution Slider, and many custom shortcodes.

More information:

Finance Business

Finance Business

(Finance Business WP Theme)

This theme was specifically built for businesses that provide any type of financial service including tax help, consulting, insurance, corporate, finance, loans, accounting, and more. This theme includes a custom CMSMasters Visual Content Composer plugin, around 100 shortcodes that let you add charts and financial content, custom drag-and-drop composer, two premium sliders, page settings, color management, animated elements, and lots more.

Visit this website for more details about this WordPress theme:

Avada

Avada Finance WordPress Theme

(Avada Finance WordPress Theme)

Avada is a fully responsive and versatile multipurpose theme that lets you easily build, configure, and run any kind of website you want without touching code, including a website for an accounting or finance-related organization.

To learn more about the Avada theme for WordPress, go here: Avada

Hopefully, this guide has helped you learn how to improve your accounting business online using WordPress.

How To Create Results For Your Accounting Business Online Using WordPress Plugins And Themes

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