What a Financial Advisor Website Needs

The facts quoted here come from primary sources: the SEC's announcement and fact sheet for the investment adviser marketing rule (the rule itself is on its rule page), the SEC's Form CRS instructions, FINRA Rule 2210 and FINRA's About BrokerCheck page, Google Business Profile Help on guidelines for representing your business, Google Search Central on helpful content and local business structured data, and the schema.org FinancialService type, all checked on 14 November 2026. The rest is our view from building websites for businesses. None of it is legal or compliance advice: your compliance officer, your broker-dealer if you have one, and your regulator decide what your site may say.

The short answer

Explain your services and your fee model in plain words, post your Form CRS where people can find it if you have to file one, link your Form ADV brochure, give each advisor a bio page that links to their public record, and offer one simple way to book a call. Have your compliance team review the site before launch and every time you change it, because regulators treat most of it as advertising.

Services and how you are paid

Visitors compare advisors on two things before anything else: what you will do for them and what it will cost. Our view of what the services pages should cover:

• One page per service you actually offer, such as financial planning, investment management, retirement income planning or advice for business owners, saying who it is for and what the client gets.
• Your fee model in words: a percentage of assets, a flat or hourly planning fee, a retainer, commissions, or a mix. If you are paid in more than one way, say so on the same page, not only in a PDF.
• Any account minimum, and what happens in a first meeting.
• A link to your full fee schedule or Form ADV brochure for the details.

Form CRS and Form ADV on your site

SEC-registered investment advisers and broker-dealers that serve retail investors prepare a short relationship summary, Form CRS. The SEC's instructions say: "You must post the current version of the relationship summary prominently on your public website, if you have one, in a location and format that is easily accessible for retail investors." For an investment adviser it "must not exceed two pages."

The instructions also cover the online version. In a relationship summary posted on your website, "you must provide a means of facilitating access to any information that is referenced in the relationship summary if the information is available online, including, for example, hyperlinks to fee schedules, conflicts disclosures". So the posted Form CRS should link to your brochure and fee schedule, and those links must survive a redesign.

Our view on placement: a "Form CRS" link in the footer of every page, plus links to Form CRS and your Form ADV Part 2A brochure on the fees page and the about page. Form CRS also directs readers to "Investor.gov/CRS for a free and simple search tool to research you and your financial professionals", so your bios linking that same record (below) fits what the form already tells people.

Your website is advertising: the SEC marketing rule

For SEC-registered investment advisers, the marketing rule (Rule 206(4)-1) covers most of a firm website. The SEC's fact sheet defines an advertisement as "any direct or indirect communication an investment adviser makes that: (i) offers the investment adviser's investment advisory services with regard to securities to prospective clients or private fund investors, or (ii) offers new investment advisory services with regard to securities to current clients or private fund investors." A public page describing your services fits that definition.

The rule lists general prohibitions. Among them, an advertisement may not include:

• "an untrue statement of a material fact", or leave out a material fact needed to keep a statement from being misleading;
• "a material statement of fact that the adviser does not have a reasonable basis for believing it will be able to substantiate upon demand by the Commission";
• a discussion of "any potential benefits without providing fair and balanced treatment of any associated material risks or limitations".

Performance has its own conditions. The rule prohibits performance results unless "they are provided for specific time periods in most circumstances", and prohibits "any statement that the Commission has approved or reviewed any calculation or presentation of performance results". Our view: unless your compliance team has prepared a performance presentation that meets the rule, leave returns off the website.

Brokers registered with FINRA follow FINRA Rule 2210 instead, and dual registrants may follow both. State-registered advisers follow their state's rules.

Testimonials, reviews and ratings

The marketing rule allows testimonials and endorsements, with conditions. The SEC says "Advertisements must clearly and prominently disclose whether the person giving the testimonial or endorsement (the “promoter”) is a client and whether the promoter is compensated." It also says an adviser "must enter into a written agreement with promoters, except where the promoter is an affiliate of the adviser or the promoter receives de minimis compensation (i.e., $1,000 or less, or the equivalent value in non-cash compensation, during the preceding twelve months)." Third-party ratings, such as a "top advisor" list, need disclosures too: the rule "prohibits the use of third-party ratings in an advertisement, unless the adviser provides disclosures and satisfies certain criteria pertaining to the preparation of the rating."

For FINRA members, Rule 2210 says retail communications with a testimonial about investment advice or performance "must prominently disclose" that "the testimonial may not be representative of the experience of other customers", that it "is no guarantee of future performance or success", and, "If more than $100 in value is paid for the testimonial, the fact that it is a paid testimonial."

Our view: decide with compliance whether you will show testimonials or review widgets at all, and if you do, build the required disclosure next to each one rather than in a footnote. Our reviews and testimonials guide covers the general side.

Advisor bios and BrokerCheck links

Give each advisor a bio page (our view): a real photo, the services they handle, who they usually work with, the credentials and registrations they actually hold, and a short personal note. Drop any designation that lapses.

Then link the public record. FINRA describes BrokerCheck as "a free tool from FINRA that can help you research the professional backgrounds of investment professionals, brokerage firms and investment adviser firms." It notes that broker information comes from the Central Registration Depository (CRD), and "The information about investment adviser firms and representatives comes from the Securities and Exchange Commission's Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) database." The SEC's own adviser search is at adviserinfo.sec.gov.

For FINRA member firms this is a rule, not a choice. Rule 2210 says "Each of a member's websites must include a readily apparent reference and hyperlink to BrokerCheck on: (i) the initial webpage that the member intends to be viewed by retail investors; and (ii) any other webpage that includes a professional profile of one or more registered persons who conduct business with retail investors." For everyone else, a link from each bio to that advisor's public record is a simple way to show you have nothing to hide (our view).

Booking a first call

Our view:

• Offer one clear next step on every page: book a 15 or 30 minute introductory call through a scheduler, or a short form if you prefer to call back. Our online booking guide compares the options.
• Ask only for name, email or phone, and a line about what they need. Never ask for account numbers, Social Security numbers or statements on a public form; collect documents later through your secure client portal.
• Put a privacy notice next to the form. Our website privacy basics covers what it should say; your compliance team may add the firm's own privacy policy.

Remember that your firm's books and records rules can reach website forms, chat widgets and scheduler messages. Check how those are kept before you switch one on.

Google Business Profile and search

Google names financial planners as individual practitioners: "Doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners, and insurance or real estate agents are all individual practitioners." If several public-facing advisors work at one office, Google says "The organization should create a Business Profile for this location, separate from that of the practitioner", and each advisor's profile title "should include only the name of the practitioner, and shouldn’t include the name of the organization." A sole advisor at a branded office should "share a Business Profile with the organization". Our Google Business Profile guide covers setup; reviews on the profile raise the same compliance questions as above.

Money is a topic Google treats with extra care. Its helpful content guidance says "our systems give even more weight to content that aligns with strong E-E-A-T for topics that could significantly impact the health, financial stability, or safety of people", and calls these "Your Money or Your Life" topics.

For structured data, schema.org has a FinancialService type, described as "Financial services business." and placed under LocalBusiness. Google's local business documentation says to "Use the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible", so an advisory firm's home or contact page can use FinancialService with the same name, address, phone and hours as its Business Profile.

A short checklist (our view)

• A page per service, with your fee model and any minimum in plain words.
• Form CRS posted prominently and linked from every page if you file one, with working links to your brochure and fee schedule.
• No performance figures, ratings or testimonials unless compliance has prepared them under the rules that apply to you.
• A bio for each advisor with a link to BrokerCheck or the SEC adviser search, and a BrokerCheck link on the home page for FINRA members.
• One easy way to book a first call, with a short form and no account details.
• A compliance review before launch and before each change, with copies kept.

Accounting firms and insurance agencies have matching guides in what an accounting firm website needs and what an insurance agency website needs. If you would rather have it built for you, our website development service builds custom WordPress and static websites made to load fast, rank well and be easy for your team to edit.

Frequently asked questions

What should a financial advisor website include?

A page per service with the fee model in plain words, Form CRS and Form ADV links where they apply, a bio for each advisor linked to their public record, a simple way to book a first call, a privacy notice next to forms, and copy your compliance team has reviewed.

Does a financial advisor have to post Form CRS on their website?

SEC-registered investment advisers and broker-dealers with retail investors must, if they have a public website. The SEC's instructions say to post the current relationship summary prominently on the public website in a location and format that is easily accessible for retail investors.

Can financial advisors use testimonials on their website?

Yes, with conditions. Under the SEC marketing rule the advertisement must clearly and prominently disclose whether the person is a client and whether they were compensated, and paid promoters generally need a written agreement. FINRA Rule 2210 requires its own disclosures for broker testimonials. Clear them with compliance first.

Do I need a BrokerCheck link on my website?

FINRA member firms must include a readily apparent reference and hyperlink to BrokerCheck on the main page meant for retail investors and on any page with a profile of a registered person who works with retail investors. For other advisors it is optional but a good way to show your record.