Managed websites for accounting and professional services firmsManaged websites for accounting firms
hello@firmwebstudio.comCompare: Hiring a freelancer
The short answer
A skilled freelancer is a good choice for a firm that wants a one-off build, has a clear brief and will handle upkeep afterwards, or retain the freelancer for it. The common failure is after launch: the freelancer moves on, logins are lost and the site freezes. A managed service is built for the years after launch, with a fixed monthly fee and a turnaround on every change.
A freelance web designer or developer is an independent professional hired for a project, usually quoted as a one-off fee with optional hourly or retainer support afterwards. Quality, speed and availability vary widely from person to person.
The real difference
Freelance engagements are usually scoped as projects: design, build, launch, invoice. A firm's website, though, lives for years and changes every month. New partners, new services, holiday hours, a new office. With a freelancer those changes become small jobs to schedule and pay for, and the firm is exposed if the person becomes unavailable. Our plan is priced around the years after launch, not just the launch.
Side by side
A fair summary for a firm with partners. Competitor details are described in general terms; where a specific fact is stated, it is cited below.
| What matters | Hiring a freelancer | FirmWebStudio |
|---|---|---|
| Speed and Core Web Vitals | Depends entirely on the freelancer's skill and tools | Custom-coded pages on Cloudflare's edge, 90+ PageSpeed guaranteed on mobile and desktop |
| SEO control | Depends on the freelancer; often basic unless SEO is scoped | Titles, descriptions, URLs, internal links and redirects set page by page, by us |
| Schema / JSON-LD | Only if the freelancer adds it | JSON-LD matched to each page type, included on every plan |
| AEO and GEO readiness | Only if scoped and written for | Answer-first copy, FAQ blocks, llms.txt and consistent firm details by default |
| Hosting and security | Often arranged separately, sometimes on the freelancer's account | Cloudflare hosting, SSL, CDN and DDoS protection inside the monthly fee |
| Maintenance burden on the firm | Paid by the hour or on retainer, if the freelancer is available | None. Updates, security and uptime are ours; nobody at the firm logs in |
| Who does the work | One person, for as long as they are available | We build and run it; the firm approves. 5 revisions a month included |
| Content and blog | Usually supplied by the firm; copywriting is extra | 2 to 3 researched articles a week, depending on plan |
| Design quality | Can be excellent; varies widely | Custom, built around the firm's practice areas, partners and offices |
| Accessibility and compliance pages | Only if the freelancer includes it | Privacy, cookie (with real consent), terms, accessibility and disclaimer pages included |
| Cost model | A project fee up front, then hourly or retainer for changes | $137 a month plus a $797 build fee invoiced only after launch |
| Lock-in and ownership | Depends on the contract; check who holds the domain and hosting logins | Domain in the firm's name, no fixed term, content export on cancellation |
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen.
An honest fit
Plans from $137 a month. The $797 build fee is invoiced only after launch, and Practice is live in 7 days.
Compare our three plansSwitching, or running both
We take over sites from freelancers regularly, including ones where logins are missing.
What you get with us
The site itself, search visibility and management come on every plan. Partnership adds the AI Engine. Multi-Partner adds the Content Engine. Nothing below is an add-on invoiced later.
Practice On every plan, from $137 a month
Custom-coded pages served from the edge, 90+ PageSpeed guaranteed on every plan.
Tax, audit, advisory, bookkeeping: each service line gets its own page built to be found and read.
Structured bios that read as senior: background, focus areas, credentials as stated by the firm.
Multi-office firms get a page per location, built for the searches run in that city.
A short form that asks what type of engagement a prospective client needs, then routes it into the CRM.
Partner changes, new services, updated hours: handled every week, not left for the next redesign.
Practice-relevant articles written and published every week, without the firm writing a word.
Cloudflare hosting with SSL, CDN, DDoS protection and unmetered bandwidth, nothing itemised.
Technical and on-page SEO, answer-first content, structured data and AI-readable files on every plan.
The policy pages a US firm website needs, with cookie consent that actually blocks tracking until a visitor agrees.
What is worth keeping is moved across, and every old URL is redirected so earned rankings are not thrown away.
One domain included and registered to the firm, transferred free if the firm ever leaves. No fixed contract term.
5 revisions a month included, each completed within 2 to 5 working days, requested from one portal.
Partnership Added on Partnership, $297 a month plus AI usage at cost
An AI receptionist and site chat that handle routine questions when the office is closed.
Answers the phone when the team is with clients or the office is closed, with a call-analysis PDF after each answered call.
One assistant answers routine questions on the website chat, by text message, on Facebook Messenger and in Instagram DMs.
The carrier registration US business texting requires, filed on the firm's behalf so SMS works from day one.
Multi-Partner Added on Multi-Partner, $747 a month
3 researched articles a week, 3 social image posts a week, 2 reels, and a managed Google Business Profile.
3 designed image posts and 2 short reels a week, written from the firm's practice areas.
The firm's Google profile kept accurate and active every week.
In their words
The new site finally separates our practice areas the way we actually run them. Someone reading the audit page never has to wonder whether we also do that work, and the inquiry form tells us which partner should call back before anyone opens the email.
Rebuild from a one-page brochure site, Partnership plan
Adding our newest partner used to mean waiting weeks for whoever built the old site to have time. Now I put a request in the portal with the bio and headshot, and a few working days later it is live. I have not logged in to a website editor since launch.
Move from a self-managed page builder, Practice plan
Referral partners finally have a page to send people to. Before, everyone landed on the same generic homepage whatever they had been told about us. Now the attorney who refers a benefit plan audit can link straight to that page.
Practice area and partner bio rebuild, Practice plan
Illustrative sample reviews. The names, firms and quotes above are examples written to show the kind of outcome clients describe; they are not statements by real clients. Verified client reviews will replace them.
Up front, a freelancer's project fee is paid once while our plan is monthly. Over the years after launch, compare the freelancer's hourly rate for every change against our $137 a month with 5 revisions, hosting and articles included.
Yes. This is one of the most common situations we take over. We recover the domain and content where possible and rebuild with redirects.
That depends on the contract. Check who holds the domain registration and hosting login. On our plans the domain is registered in the firm's name.
A talented one can build a beautiful site. We design each firm's site individually too; the difference is that we also run it.
That is fine. A freelancer can keep handling brand or print work while we run the website.
Every revision is completed within 2 to 5 working days, whatever its size, with no scheduling or quote.
Sometimes, usually as a separate quote. On our plans the SEO foundations and weekly researched articles are included.
There is no fixed term. Cancel with the notice period in the terms and the site runs to the end of the paid month.
This page compares FirmWebStudio with a category of provider, not with any named company. Descriptions reflect publicly available information at the time of writing.
Other comparisons
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