The Pros and Cons of Accounting Website Templates

Is a CPA firm website template the right option for you?

Accounting website templates can be a great solution for small or startup firms looking to quickly and affordably launch a new site. But are templates the right choice for you? Will they help you rank well? Are they the right long term strategic choice?

Your website plays a vital role. It’s the cornerstone of your online marketing. Choosing an accountant is a lot more of a logical and longer term process, and because of that prospects will tend to visit your accounting website to learn more about you and your services before making a decision. Your website needs to reflect your brand tone, professionalism and expertise, as well as give some insight into who’s behind the firm.

Some of the best accounting firm website templates, like those provided by MITCO Digital, get this right and provide you with an easy solution.

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In this blog, we’ll explore the pros and cons of accounting website templates so you can make an informed decision before committing to such a vital piece of your marketing puzzle. Here’s what we’ll cover. Click one to jump to that topic.

Accounting Website Template Example #1

Take a look at an example that we created for our clients.

Pros of Accounting Website Templates

Some of the advantages of choosing a template website for your accounting firm include affordability, speed to launch, standard built-in features, and ease of use.

Let’s look at the pros first and then move onto the cons.

1. Affordability

Accounting website templates are much more affordable than custom-built websites because the design and development have already been done. For small bookkeepers, accounting firms or independent CPAs, this can be a great way to get online without a large upfront investment.

There are a number of CPA website templates available online, ranging from less than $100 to a couple thousand dollars. You can select a design that fits your budget without sacrificing too much on aesthetics or functionality. Just bear in mind that a good website costs more money for good reason.

If you’re looking for an affordable website for your accounting firm, speak to our team at MITCO Digital today. We have a number of templated designs that can be customized to your brand, your tone and that include good SEO built into them.

2. Quick Setup

One of the biggest pros of choosing an accounting website template is that it allows for a faster setup compared to custom-built websites.

Choose your template, adjust your branding, tone of voice, services, content, and you’re pretty much ready to go. Most CPA website templates can go live within a few days.

3. Built-In Features for CPAs

Accounting website templates often come with pre-built features the CPA firms need. At MITCO Digital, for example, our templates include things like a link to your client portal, integrations into your CRM, the ability to take client payments, and a resources section (for tax guides, calculators, etc).

This saves you the time and hassle of trying to think through all the aspects you might need on your site. Agencies that are not familiar with the accounting industry often won’t be aware of these features upfront. Adding them in later can cause delays or added costs.

Some providers also offer integrations with popular accounting software, making it easier to manage client information and track payments securely.

4. No Coding Knowledge Required

Most accounting website templates are designed to be user-friendly. You don’t need any coding knowledge to customize or maintain them. Many platforms, like Elementor Pro, use drag-and-drop interfaces, making it easy to edit your content directly on the page. They also automatically adjust the display for different devices so that your CPA website template looks great whether it’s on desktop, mobile or tablet.

For most small accounting firms that can’t afford an in-house tech person or developer, this ease of use is a major benefit. If you have some technical ability, and are willing to push through the initial learning curve, you should be able to do basic content edits yourself.

AT MITCO Digital, we make this even easier for you. If you’re on one of our monthly plans, any ongoing edits, maintenance or content changes are included.

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Cons of Accounting Website Templates

The downsides of using an accounting website template are that you’re locked into a set design, SEO limitations, your site may look like another accounting firm, and limited scalability.

1. Lack of Customization

Accounting website templates are meant to be an affordable, quick solution. The reason they are cheap is because they don’t allocate hours for highly customized design, content, and backend technical requirements.

If your firm has specific design requirements or wants to stand out with a unique brand identity, you might find it difficult to do so with a standard template bought online. You may end up incurring additional costs if you need a developer to customize the template. Customizing a template can also lead to functionality issues as someone is now building on top of a design (and code) that someone else created.

You may also struggle to find a custom template if your accounting firm offers niche services, like ‘accounting for designers’. These CPA firm website templates tend to be more generic in order to appeal to a broader market.

2. SEO Limitations

This is an issue we’ve come across many times when new clients come to us after using a website template for a while. Even though they may have had a domain and website live for many year, they don’t receive any traffic to their website, don’t rank for any keywords and don’t generate any leads (or ROI) from their site.

Unfortunately, accounting website templates are often not optimized for SEO. Many templates use basic SEO structures, which don’t include the advanced features you need to rank for localized or niche keywords.

Without built-in support for SEO best practices—such as optimized page titles, meta descriptions, and schema markup—your site might struggle to compete in search engine rankings. This is especially important for 2024, as Google continues to emphasize user experience and mobile-first indexing.

At MITCO Digital, we ensure that your accounting website template has the right SEO structure built into it from the very beginning.

3. Overused Designs

Because templates are mass-produced, they’re often used by many firms, meaning there’s a good chance that your site could end up looking like someone else’s.

That doesn’t differentiate you much from other accounting firms and makes your marketing look lazy. It could affect the perception that clients and prospects have of your accounting practice.

4. Limited Scalability

Another downside of using accounting website templates is that they may not scale well as your firm grows. If you plan to expand your services or integrate new technologies, a template might not offer the flexibility you need.

Templates are generally designed for basic functions, so adding advanced features like complex client portals or CRM integrations may require a custom solution down the line.

Accounting Website Template Example #2

Here’s another CPA firm site template that we created for our clients.

Who Should Use Accounting Website Templates?

Accounting website templates are ideal for small firms, solo practitioners, or startups that need a simple online presence without the bells and whistles of a custom site. If you’re offering standard services like tax preparation or bookkeeping and need to get online quickly and affordably, a template could be the perfect solution.

For example, a small CPA firm focused on tax returns for individuals, or a bookkeeper that’s just starting out, may find a template more than sufficient.

When Should You Consider a Custom Website?

While templates are convenient, there are times when a custom website is a better option. If your firm offers a wide range of services, works in niche markets, or requires advanced features such as complex payment processing systems or custom client dashboards, a custom-built website may be worth the investment.

Custom websites also offer more control over SEO which will help your firm rank well in search results and generate a return for you. A custom site also gives you more control over online brand image, helping you to differentiate yourself from other accounting firms.

Accounting Website Template Example #3

Here’s another CPA website template that we created for our bookkeeping clients.

Accounting Website Templates From MITCO Digital

The decision between using accounting website templates or opting for a custom solution ultimately depends on your firm’s specific needs, budget, and growth plans. Templates offer an affordable, quick-to-launch solution with built-in CPA features, but they come with limitations in customization, SEO, and scalability.

If you need help determining whether a template or custom website is the right choice for your accounting firm, contact us today. We work exclusively with accounting firms and can support you with either a partially customized accounting website template, or a full custom solution.

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