- January brings new prospects, so December is a good time to tidy your website.
- Confirm your current Form ADV and, if required, Form CRS are linked and easy to find.
- Recheck every testimonial, rating, and its disclosure, and save a dated copy of every page.
- Test forms end to end, check the site on a phone, and run a speed test.
- If the list turns up many issues, get a rebuild price with our instant estimate.
January brings new prospects. People make financial resolutions, look up advisors, and compare websites. December is a good time to make sure yours is ready. None of the fixes below needs a redesign, and most take less than an hour.
Compliance and disclosures
1. Swap in your current Form ADV brochure. If you amended Form ADV this year, check that the footer link opens the latest version, not last year's PDF.
2. Check Form CRS. If you serve retail investors, confirm the current relationship summary is posted and easy to find. Our guide to website disclosures lists where each document belongs.
3. Review testimonials and ratings. Is every quoted person still a client? Has any rating or badge expired? Are the disclosures still sitting right next to each one?
4. Save a dated copy of the site. Export or screenshot every public page as it stands at year-end. It makes your books-and-records file easier and gives you a clean baseline for next year.
Accuracy
5. Update the team page. New hires, departures, new designations, and new photos. An outdated team page is one of the first things prospects notice.
6. Fix the footer year and contact details. Copyright year, address, phone number, and office hours. Make sure the phone number matches your Google Business Profile exactly.
7. Refresh or retire dated content. Blog posts that reference "this year's" tax limits or market events can confuse readers. Update them, add a note, or unpublish them.
Function
8. Test every form. Submit your own contact form and scheduling link. Confirm the notification arrives, the right person gets it, and the thank-you page loads.
9. Check your site on a phone. Many prospects see your site on mobile first. Look for tiny text, buttons that are hard to tap, and disclosures that disappear on small screens.
10. Run a speed check. Paste your homepage into Google PageSpeed Insights. Large uncompressed images are the usual culprit, and they are easy to fix.
The quick version
- Current Form ADV linked
- Form CRS posted, if required
- Testimonials and ratings still valid, with disclosures
- Dated copy of every page saved
- Team page current
- Footer year, address, and phone updated
- Dated posts refreshed or retired
- Forms tested end to end
- Mobile check done
- Speed check done
If the checklist turns up more than a few problems, that may be a sign it is time for a rebuild rather than a patch. Our instant estimate shows what that would cost in about two minutes. Producers can pair this with our guide to insurance and annuity marketing rules, and see how we help producers.
This article is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Confirm any specific requirement with your compliance resource.
Common questions
How often should an advisor update their website?
Review it whenever something material changes, such as a Form ADV amendment, a new team member, or a new service, and do a full pass at least once a year. Year-end is a natural time because it lines up with annual compliance reviews.
Do I need to keep old versions of my website?
SEC-registered advisers must keep records of their advertisements, and a website counts. Saving a dated copy of each page when it changes, and at least once a year, is a simple way to keep that record.
Why does website speed matter for advisors?
Slow pages lose visitors, especially on phones, and site speed is one of the signals search engines consider. Compressing large images is often the quickest improvement.