A website for accountants is a practice website that tells a visitor within seconds who the firm works for (sole traders, companies, individuals), which services it covers, how to ask for a quote and who is behind it, with the details the law and the professional body require. On 25 accountancy websites among the most reviewed on Google Maps in Milan, Rome and Turin, 6 home pages do not show the VAT number required by Italian law and only 2 state the firm's registration with the professional body (Visilay survey, 10 November 2026).
The survey is Italian, but the mistakes travel well. The three we see most often:
- a phone number that is written but not tappable, so a mobile visitor has to copy it by hand (9 home pages out of 25);
- "free consultation" offers and testimonials up front, on a site that professional rules treat as information, not advertising;
- missing mandatory details: VAT number, regulator, registration number.
And there is a competitor the high-street practice tends to ignore: online accounting services. In Italy "commercialista online" (online accountant) gets 2,900 searches a month, and two of the 25 sites in our sample (Quickfisco and TaxMan) are subscription services that publish prices.
So what is the practice website for?
It is where both the person who found you on the map and the person who heard your name from a friend end up. If they cannot see who you are, who you work for and how to get a quote, they call the next firm on the list.
We know because we measure enquiries. For Contesini Consulenze, two energy consultancy offices in Italy, we built Google Ads lead generation from scratch: 299 enquiries at €7.20 each, and 68% became sales opportunities.
Below: what we found on 25 practice websites, what the site must show in the UK and in Italy, why professional rules limit promotion, the pages you need, the client portal, costs and what an AI reads. Data first.
What we found on 25 accountancy websites (2 state their registration)
On 10 November 2026 we took the 10 Google Maps listings with the most reviews in accountancy categories within 5 km of the centre of Milan, Rome and Turin (DataForSEO Business Listings). We removed 2 tax assistance centres, 2 listings with no website and 1 site that loads its text only through JavaScript: that left 25 home pages, downloaded by our server and checked automatically.
| What we looked for on the home page | Sites that have it | Share |
|---|---|---|
| VAT number | 19 of 25 | 76% |
| Registration with the professional body stated | 2 of 25 (1 with the number) | 8% |
| Tappable phone number (tel: link) | 16 of 25 | 64% |
| Contact form | 12 of 25 | 48% |
| Invitation to book an appointment | 9 of 25 | 36% |
| WhatsApp link | 7 of 25 | 28% |
| Client portal login | 8 of 25 | 32% |
| Prices or fees | 2 of 25 | 8% |
| Client reviews or testimonials | 8 of 25 | 32% |
| "Free" consultation, quote or call | 5 of 25 | 20% |
| Local business structured data | 5 of 25 | 20% |
| Link to blog, news or client bulletins | 20 of 25 | 80% |
The VAT number is almost always there; the registration almost never. Yet registration is the detail a careful client checks on the regulator's register.
Only 2 of 25 publish prices, and both are subscription services. Traditional practices do not, even though their code of ethics allows it.
20 of 25 have a blog, mostly the same tax bulletins a hundred other firms publish: useful for existing clients, little help in finding new ones.
(The check is automated and reads only the home page: a detail can sit on an inner page. That is why we talk about home pages, not whole sites.)
What an accountant's website must show (UK and Italy)
An accountancy website must show who legally runs the practice and how to check it. In the UK the rules come from company law and the Provision of Services Regulations:
- Companies and LLPs: regulation 25 of SI 2015/17 requires the registered number, the registered office address and the part of the UK where the company is registered, on its websites as well as its letters.
- Provision of Services Regulations 2009: according to the ICAEW helpsheet, clients must get the firm's name, legal status, postal address, VAT number, the professional body it is registered with and the professional indemnity insurer's details and territorial cover. ICAEW notes the rules do not say where: a website is one option, the engagement letter another.
- Titles: ICAEW reminds firms that "Chartered Accountant(s)" is a restricted description that cannot be used in a firm's name.
In Italy the list is similar but stricter on the home page: article 35 of Presidential Decree 633/1972 puts the VAT number on the home page, and article 7 of Legislative Decree 70/2003 asks regulated professionals for their professional body, registration number and title. In our sample one practice out of 25 shows body, district and number on the home page.
Professional rules on promotion (and the Italian clause that bans advertising on the site)
Professional bodies allow accountants to promote their services, but only with information that can be checked. The ICAEW marketing helpsheet warns that websites "can easily give a misleading impression of the size and scope" of a firm, that any reference to fees needs "the greatest care" so it does not mislead, and that comparisons must be objective.
The Italian code of ethics for accountants (CNDCEC, with the 2025 amendments) goes further in article 44 (quotes in our translation):
- no superlatives (paragraph 3): information must not be "comparative, emphatic, superlative or suggestive";
- no client names (paragraph 4), even with the client's consent;
- no advertising on the website (paragraph 11): the website "cannot contain commercial or advertising references".
So the website cannot bring in clients?
It can, through information rather than promotion. That matters: 5 of 25 Italian home pages offer something "free" and 8 show client reviews or testimonials, often with full names. Our cautious line, in both countries: describe services, specialisms, team and fees precisely; show your average Google rating with a link instead of named testimonials; drop "best" and "cheapest"; when in doubt, ask your professional body first. Lawyers face similar rules, covered in our guide to the law firm website; payroll and employment consultants, under a looser code, in our guide to the payroll consultant website.
The pages an accountancy practice needs (one per client type, not one per service)
The pages you need are the ones that answer how people choose an accountant, and searchers say who they are before they say what they need. In the UK "website for accountants" gets 260 searches a month, while "accountant website" gets 3,600 but is mostly people looking for an accountant, not a web designer (Google Ads UK, DataForSEO, 12-month average).
- Home with town, client types and a tappable contact without scrolling;
- one page per client type: sole traders and new businesses, limited companies, landlords, individuals if you take them;
- the team: people, qualifications, professional body, registration details;
- fees and quotes: how you get to a quote and, if you choose, starting prices;
- contact with address, hours, phone and a short form.
On fees, the rules are ahead of the websites. The Italian code lists fees among the information a practice may publish, and requires a written or digital estimate before the engagement. The ICAEW asks only that fee references do not mislead. You quote anyway: the site can explain how.
For the technical base, see our guide to building an SEO-friendly website.
Client portal and documents (the tax data that passes through the site)
A client portal is the area of the site where clients upload invoices and download returns. In our sample 8 of 25 home pages link one, and practice software vendors such as Datalog and Passepartout in Italy sell it built into the website.
Income data, tax codes and sometimes health data pass through it. Under the GDPR (and the UK GDPR) the portal provider processes that data on your behalf: you need a processor contract (article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and security appropriate to the risk (article 32). And the contact form is not the channel for sending a tax return.
Do you have to have one? No. But if the site has a "Client login" button, it must work: a login that leads to an error page does more harm than no login.
The practice website against online accountants (2,900 searches a month in Italy)
The online accountant is the competitor a practice website has to beat on visible prices and a clear process. This is how much it weighs in Italian searches.
| Search (Italian) | Searches a month | CPC ($) |
|---|---|---|
| commercialista (accountant) | 33,100 | 4.37 |
| commercialista vicino a me (accountant near me) | 4,400 | 3.25 |
| commercialista online (online accountant) | 2,900 | 6.74 |
| studio commercialista (accountancy practice) | 2,900 | 1.92 |
| commercialista milano | 1,600 | 5.06 |
| commercialista roma | 1,600 | 4.82 |
| commercialista torino | 1,600 | 4.90 |
The online service wins with the simple sole trader who wants to know the price. The practice wins with the company, the payroll, the tax enquiry. But only if the website says so: "tax, accounting and corporate advice" for everyone does not.
And clicks cost money: about 5 dollars for "commercialista milano", while 13 of 25 home pages have no form and 9 have no tappable phone number. The paid click lands on a page with no quick way to get in touch. The campaign maths is in our guide to Google Ads for accountants, the channels in the one on lead generation for accountants.
Does your practice website say who you work for and how to get a quote?
Of 25 practice websites among the most reviewed in Milan, Rome and Turin, 23 do not state their registration and 13 have no form on the home page. Let us check yours: mandatory details, professional rules, pages per client type and enquiries.
Book a strategy callHow much does a website for accountants cost (published prices only)
A website for accountants costs from about €500 in the first year with a subscription service built for practices to a few thousand for a bespoke site, but few prices are published. These are the Italian ones we found, checked on 10 November 2026:
| Offer | Published price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, Digital Studio Web Super Light | €199 a year + €299 one-off | €498 in year one, set-up not charged again on renewal |
| Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, Digital Studio Web Light | €299 a year + €399 one-off | same formula |
| Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, Digital Studio Web Premium | €499 a year + €2,699 one-off | same formula |
| FISCOeTASSE, SiteCenter Offerta Sito Full | €1,400 + VAT | subscription with tax news, deadlines, bulletins and a template site |
Sources: the Giuffrè price list and the FISCOeTASSE product page, dated 6 October 2023. For costs by type of site and the real three-year cost, see our guide on how much a website costs.
Practice packages put the same news and bulletins on every site that uses them: handy for clients, little help in standing out on Google. Bespoke makes sense when you have specialisms or client types to explain, and it is what we do in our web development service: client searches and mandatory details first, design second.
What an AI reads when someone looks for an accountant (the regulator in 3 answers out of 3)
When someone searches for an accountant in their city, Google's AI Overview answers before the results and, in the three Italian searches we read on mobile on 10 November 2026, it pointed to the local professional body as the place to check who is registered.
| Search | AI Overview | Names the professional body | Map listings | Practice sites in organic results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| commercialista milano | yes | yes, ODCEC Milano | 6 | 5 of 9 |
| commercialista roma | yes | yes, ODCEC Roma | 4 | 7 of 10 |
| commercialista torino | yes | yes, ODCEC Torino | 4 | 6 of 10 |
In Milan and Rome the indicative costs in the AI Overview came from pages that publish prices: an online service and a Rome practice's article on fees. If you publish nothing on fees, someone else answers "how much does it cost". And in Rome 3 of 5 practices were described from their Google Business Profile, not their website.
Google says there are no extra requirements to appear in its AI features beyond normal SEO basics. What helps is a site that states town, services, client types, registration and fees plainly, matching the Google profile. Nobody can promise a citation; our test on how ChatGPT and Google pick businesses in a city is in the guide to local AI visibility.
Frequently asked questions about websites for accountants
Yes. The ICAEW asks that any reference to fees does not mislead, and the Italian code of ethics lists fees among the information a practice may publish. In Italy a written or digital estimate is also required before the engagement.
It depends: the Italian code bans client names in promotional information, even with consent, and the ICAEW warns against anything misleading. Your average Google rating with a link to the profile names nobody; for named testimonials, check with your professional body first.
Companies and LLPs must show their registered number, registered office and part of the UK where they are registered (SI 2015/17, regulation 25). The Provision of Services Regulations add name, legal status, address, VAT number, professional body and indemnity insurer details, which can also go in the engagement letter.
It depends: a package like Giuffrè Digital Studio Web in Italy starts at €199 a year plus €299 one-off and covers a basic presence. If you want to be found for specific client types or specialisms, you need pages written for those searches, and that is where bespoke pays.
Website for accountants, in short (and the check to do today)
Registration and legal details: stated in full by 1 practice in 25.
VAT number on the home page: required in Italy, missing on 6 of 25.
Professional rules: the site informs, it does not advertise.
Fees: allowed, published by 2 sites in 25.
One page per client type, with the same details as the Google profile.
The check to do today: open your practice site on a phone and look, without scrolling more than twice, for your registration details, VAT number and a one-tap way to call. If one is missing, you know where to start. If the site is there but enquiries are not, the next check is in our guide on a website not generating leads; what a client is worth for each profession is in our analysis of marketing for accountants.
One last point you will not find in other guides on accountancy websites: professional rules and AI answers push the same way, checkable facts instead of adjectives. A site that states registration, fees and client types complies with the rules and gives an AI sentences it can reuse as they are.
