SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 2, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Plante & Moran has launched a comprehensive new website that promises maximum information with minimum time search. According to the firm's internal web designers, the shift towards an easy-to-find list of services and topical business information is consistent with a trend among professional service firms towards website content that is less "About Us" and more issues and service driven to meet the web visitor's needs.
"Websites need to be clear and direct in explaining their organization's purpose and their product and service offerings," explained Marketing and Practice Development Director Russ Molinar. "Clients, prospective clients, and prospective staff members know what they are looking for when they visit the Plante & Moran site. We want to make sure that we offer the information they seek in a clean, simple format that maximizes their web visit and minimizes their search time."
Molinar says that difficult-to-search sites can be deal breakers for prospective clients and employees in all arenas. "Visitors will simply move on to investigate a different organization if they can't find what they want in a reasonable amount of time," he said.
When prospective clients told Plante & Moran that they didn't understand the depth of the firm's resources after a visit to the firm's original web site, something needed to be done. "That served as the impetus for the key objectives of our new website: to create a confusion-free site map and display a comprehensive list of services and industries served directly on the home page," acknowledged Molinar.
Molinar admits that while sharing company background and news on a website is still critical, it shouldn't supersede or hinder access to information about the company's core services.
"It's important to include information about a company's accomplishments, culture and history on the web, but the focus needs to be on the web visitor's goals first and foremost," he said. "We need to organize information on the site based on what users are looking for, not what we have to offer. And enhancing the site is not a one-time event; it needs to be an ongoing process to make the site more client-centric and user-friendly," commented Molinar.
Plante & Moran (www.plantemoran.com) is the nation's 10th largest certified public accounting and business advisory firm, providing clients with financial, human capital, operations, strategy, technology, and financial advisory services. Plante & Moran has a staff of more than 1,400 professionals in 16 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Nashville, Tennessee, and Shanghai, China. Plante & Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including FORTUNE magazine, as one of the country's best places to work.