What to put on a consulting website comes down to one job: a stranger with a problem should be able to tell, within seconds, that you solve it, that people like them have trusted you, and what to do next. Everything on a consulting website either supports that job or gets in its way.
A consultant sells judgement, and judgement cannot be inspected before it is bought. Potential clients and prospective clients look for evidence instead: who you help, what you have done, how you think and whether you are safe to call. The site has to supply that evidence in an order a busy person will follow.
This article shows what to include on a consultant website, page by page, for a solo adviser or a small consulting firm. Well-built consulting business websites are small, and that is why they work.
This article works through one invented example. Marlow Advisory is an illustration: a made-up three-person financial consulting firm that helps mid-sized manufacturers manage cash. It is not a real company, and nothing about it is a result. It lets you see each decision made in turn.
For the wider picture of how B2B sites win enquiries, read the full guide to B2B website design. This piece narrows to firms whose product is advice.
Consulting website design starts with one goal: a discovery call
Before choosing pages, choose the action. For most consultants it is a discovery call: a short, unpressured conversation in which both sides find out whether there is a fit. Marlow Advisory’s goal is exactly that, and nothing else.
That single goal cuts a lot of material. A downloadable guide, a newsletter sign-up and a long list of service offerings all compete with the call. Each one can have a place, but only as a quieter second option.
Write the goal as a sentence before anyone opens a design tool. For Marlow it reads: “A finance director at a manufacturer sees our site and books a call with one of the partners.” Every page is then tested against it.
There is a second reader you cannot see: the person who forwards your link. A finance director often asks a colleague whether to call you. The site has to make sense to someone who arrives with no context and spends less than a minute. That first impression is the test of professional design here.
The home page names who you help and what changes for them
The home page of a consulting website has one task: let the right person recognise themselves. Most consultant sites fail here by describing the consultant instead of the client. “Strategic solutions for a changing world” could sit on any firm in any country and tells nobody anything.
Marlow’s first screen, in the illustration, says: “We help manufacturers with 50 to 500 staff free up cash trapped in stock, suppliers and late payers.” Under it sits one button: “Book a discovery call”. Both the audience and the key outcomes are named, and the niche is obvious: one industry, one problem.
This is your value proposition in practice, written in the client’s own words and stated above the fold. The Brand Library entry on the value proposition shows what a good one contains. Clear messaging makes this page far easier to write, and it builds credibility before anyone reads further.
Three more things belong on the first screen or just below it:
- A line that states the client’s pain points in their words, such as “Profit on paper, but the bank balance is always tight”.
- One piece of proof, such as a client logos strip or a single short quote, so the claim is not standing alone.
- A route to the discovery call that does not need scrolling, in a contrasting accent colour that draws the eye to the call to action.
Leave out the handshake stock photograph, the rotating slider and the paragraph of company history. They push the answer down the page.
The services page describes problems and outcomes, not a menu of activities
Consultants tend to list what they do: advisory, strategy, transformation, optimisation. A buyer does not shop by those words. They shop by the situation they are in, and a services page should guide visitors to the one that matches theirs.
Marlow has three pages for its consulting services, and each one is named after a situation. “Cash is tight although sales are fine” is one. “We are preparing to raise funding” is another. “We are growing and our systems have not kept up” is the third.
Each page follows the same short pattern:
- The situation, described as the client would describe it.
- What usually causes it, in two or three plain sentences.
- What the work covers and what the client ends up with.
- Who it suits and who it does not.
- The next step, which is always the discovery call.
Saying who the work does not suit builds trust faster than any claim of excellence. It shows that you turn work away, which signals that your time is worth booking.
Two to five pages are plenty for a small firm. If you offer one flagship engagement, describe it concretely: what happens, in what order and what is delivered. The Website Design service page shows how Brandesis describes its own offering in the same plain terms.
Social proof and client testimonials do the selling you cannot do for yourself
A consulting website asks visitors to trust a promise. Social proof is how other people vouch for it. The Brand Library defines social proof as the way people look to the actions of others to decide for themselves, and for advisers it is the strongest material on the site.
There are four kinds, and a small firm usually has at least two:
| Kind of proof | What it looks like | Best placed |
|---|---|---|
| Client logos | A quiet row of names, with permission | Home page, under the first screen |
| Client testimonials | A short quote, with name, role and company | Services pages, next to the call to action |
| Case studies | A problem, the work and the result | A work page, linked from services |
| Credentials | Qualifications, memberships, years in the field | About page, not the first screen |
Post credentials prominently, including professional certifications, and be transparent about your qualifications. That fosters trust with potential clients who cannot judge the advice itself.
Client testimonials work when they are specific. “Great to work with” proves nothing. “We cut the time we wait for payment from customers and finally understood our cash position” is a sentence another finance director recognises. Glowing reviews with no detail read as filler; real life detail is what makes a quote believable.
Social proof also helps new clients feel safe, and it helps build trust with consulting clients who have never heard of you. Never invent or exaggerate proof. If you have two clients you may name, show two. A short, true page beats a long, vague one.
If confidentiality stops you naming clients, write the story anonymously: the type of firm, the size, the problem and what changed. Say plainly that the client is unnamed.
Case studies and client stories show how you think
Case studies are where a consulting website shows how you think. The best ones are short and structured, with one decision at the centre. Think of them as client stories that a prospect can read in two minutes.
Here is how Marlow would present an invented case, again an illustration and not a real engagement. A made-up fabrication firm had steady orders and a tight bank balance. The partners found that stock was bought early and invoices were paid late. They changed two habits, and the cash position improved.
The page names the firm’s situation, the diagnosis, the two changes and what the finance director now watches each month. Notice what that structure shows a buyer: the way you diagnose, and the type of change you recommend. A visitor reading it is already half-way through a discovery call.
Keep each case study to one page; an in depth report can sit behind a link for those who want it. Lead with the client’s situation, not your method. Add a figure only if the client has agreed to it and it is true, and put the source beside it.
Showcasing client results builds trust quickly. Real examples of finished work are on the Brandesis work pages.
The about page is where a personal brand earns trust
Buyers often read the about page before they call. People are hiring a human being, so the person must be visible.
Use a real photograph. Write in the first person for a solo consultant and in the plural for a consulting firm. Say what you did before, why you do this work, what core values guide it and what kind of ideal clients you enjoy. Leave out the list of every job since graduation.
An effective consultant is easy to picture after one read of this page. A strong personal brand does not mean a loud one. It means a clear point of view that a client can repeat to a colleague. If the founder believes that most cash problems are habit problems, say so on this page.
Marlow’s about page, in the illustration, has four parts: a photograph of each partner, a short paragraph each, one belief that guides the firm and a link to book a call with the right partner. Credentials appear at the bottom as a short list, with a link to a portfolio of past work.
If your reputation matters in a particular region, say where you work. A firm based in Gaborone that serves Southern Africa should say so near the top, not leave visitors guessing.
Insights pages show expertise through thought leadership
Thought leadership is a grand name for something simple: writing useful things down. For a consulting business, an insights page works as proof of expertise that also brings in search traffic from people with specific questions. Valuable content of this kind gives readers actionable insights they can use before they ever call.
Start small. Marlow publishes one article for each recurring question clients ask in the first meeting, such as “How do I know whether late payers are really my problem?” Each article answers one question in plain language and ends by pointing to the matching services page.
Four useful articles that a finance director would forward are worth more than forty thin ones. Choose topics by what potential clients search for and say in sales calls. Done steadily, this can drive traffic and bring more clients and more business without paying for each visit.
A simple content strategy is enough: one recurring question, one article, one link to the service it relates to.
Offer a free resource to encourage email signups, such as a one-page checklist, and let it sit beside an article as a quieter second option. It must stay quieter than the call.
Link the articles to the pages that sell. A reader who finishes an insight and finds no next step has been given advice for free and no way to continue the conversation. The guide to what makes a good website covers how pages should connect.
The contact page and intake form should be as easy as possible
The contact page decides whether a good visit turns into a discovery call. Make the intake form short. Ask for name, email, company and one line about what they want to solve. Every extra field loses someone.
Say what happens after they submit: who replies, how soon and what the first conversation covers. That removes the fear of being chased by a sales team. A consultant should sound like a consultant even on a form.
Offer a booking link beside the form for people who prefer to choose a time. Show the partner’s name and photograph beside it, so the visitor knows who will be hands on in the first conversation.
Repeat the same call to action in the same words on every page: header, end of each services page, end of each case study and each insight. Consistency teaches visitors what to do.
Keep navigation easy, with six menu items at most and the contact page one click away, so an enquiry is never hard to make.
A short FAQ section on the contact page answers common concerns without needing direct contact: how long a first call takes, who it suits and what happens next.
Search engines and AI tools need to find the same answer people do
A consulting website that cannot be found is a brochure in a drawer. You do not need a large project, but you do need the basics done properly, and you do not need to be an SEO expert to do them.
Choose the words that potential clients search, such as the problem plus the industry, and use them in titles and headings. Give each page its own title that names the situation and the audience. Write each web page for one topic, and use plain headings that state the claim.
Put the firm’s name, location and contact details in text, not in an image, so search engines and AI assistants can read them.
Buyers now ask AI tools for advisers by problem and by region. The sites that get named say clearly who they help, in plain sentences that can be quoted. Vague slogans give an assistant nothing to repeat.
SEO helps a site rank higher in search results, and an optimised site attracts more qualified leads, because the right people find it for the right problem. Add Google Search Console so you can confirm that search engines have indexed your pages.
Mobile optimisation matters too, because many busy buyers will open your link on a phone. A user friendly consulting website loads quickly, keeps the call to action within thumb reach and uses buttons that are easy to tap. Double check every page on a real phone before launch.
Privacy and security matter to clients who share sensitive details. Use HTTPS encryption and link a clear privacy policy from the contact form.
What the best consulting websites have in common
Roundups of the best consulting websites and the best consultant websites tend to show the same traits, whatever the colour scheme. The design examples that work are not the most decorated. They are the clearest.
- They are client focused. The first screen names the buyer and the problem, not the firm’s history.
- They show one page per job. Each page answers one question and points to one next step.
- They prove it. Testimonials, logos and stories sit near the claims they support.
- They look like one firm. Type, colour and tone repeat across every page, which is what a good visual identity does for a small business.
- They sound human. A real face and a real voice beat a polished but anonymous layout.
Looking at other consultants’ sites is useful for spotting patterns, but copying a layout without copying the thinking behind it produces a site that looks good and says nothing. Treat examples as a way to test your own pages, not as a template.
Choosing a website platform and web designers
You can build a consulting site on a website builder, or brief web designers. Good web design for a consulting site is mostly editing: choosing what to leave out. You do not need to be tech savvy if you arrive with the structure in hand: the goal, the pages, the words and the proof.
Pick a website platform you can edit without help, because a consulting site needs small changes often: a new testimonial, a new insight, a changed call to action. A platform that needs a developer for each edit will stay out of date.
A template can be fine for a solo consultant if the words are specific and the layout is clean. A custom build suits a firm with several services, several partners or a position that a template cannot express. What matters is the message, not the platform.
Most consultant sites share the same few faults, and the article on common website design mistakes goes into more detail. The B2B website examples article shows what other sites get right.
To work through the method in order, the Website That Sells ebook is the place to start. Each Wednesday, the Ground Truth newsletter sends one practical idea on brand and website decisions.
FAQ
What should a consulting website include?
At minimum it needs a home page that names who you help, one or more services pages written around client situations, proof in the form of client testimonials and case studies, an about page with a real photograph, and a contact page with a short intake form. Each page should point to the discovery call.
What pages does a consulting website need?
Most firms need six: home, services, work, about, insights and contact. A solo consultant can start with four by leaving out insights and work until there is material for them. Add pages only when they answer a question that potential clients keep asking.
What are some good examples of consulting websites?
Look for traits rather than names. Good examples of consulting websites name the client and the problem on the first screen, give each service its own page, place proof beside the claim it supports and offer one next step. Use examples to test your own pages, not to copy a layout.
How do I create a website for my consulting business?
Write the goal, choose the pages, draft the words before the design and collect your proof. Then build it on a platform you can edit yourself, or brief a designer with the page structure in hand. Test the contact form before launch.
Do client testimonials need names?
Named testimonials are far more convincing than anonymous ones. Get written permission and use the person’s name, role and company. If a client cannot be named, say that the quote is anonymous and describe the type of company instead.