Financial advisors are not generally known as early adopters when it comes to new online technology, says Kirtarath Dhillon, social-media and public relations coordinator with Advisor Websites in Vancouver. As a result, web-savvy visitors might find some advisors’ websites to be dry or outdated.

Clients are developing higher expectations regarding their advisors’ websites, especially if those clients have become accustomed to a high-quality experience that other companies are providing.

To make a good impression on your clients and prospects, try implementing these three website trends:

1. Simplicity
Many companies are going back to the basics by developing websites with minimal text and plenty of white space.

“The biggest pet peeve we hear is that there is just too much information on people’s websites,” Dhillon says. “Websites are becoming a smorgasbord of information.”

For example, some advisors might have team photos, blog posts, embedded social media feeds and contact information all cluttered together on their home page.

“Just presenting one set of information at a time to clients would create a nicer, cleaner user experience,” Dhillon says.

2. Responsiveness
Most people toggle between their smartphone, their tablet and their desktop or laptop computer when searching for information online. Yet many advisor websites are still tailored specifically for desktop screens.

Responsive websites adapt their layouts to the size of the device your client is using, Dhillon says. While mobile-friendly websites are displayed in the same way across all devices, the design of a responsive website changes based on the needs of the user. For example, a three-column layout (as seen on a desktop computer) might become single-column display on a smaller device.

You don’t want to put a barrier between yourself and your client, Dhillon says, by unintentionally creating a site that’s difficult to engage with on a smartphone. And with many users now opting for touch-screen devices over laptops, you should ensure that your user experience is as seamless as possible.

3. Custom domains
In 2016, advisors will likely start to join the “not-com revolution,” Dhillon says. That means creating domains that don’t end with the suffix “.com” or “.ca.”

A custom domain is one way for you to show your clients that you are on the forefront of financial technology, Dhillon says. Many trend-setting companies have already jumped on board.

For example, California-based Alphabet Inc., the parent company to Google, launched its website this year as “abc.xyz.” Unique domains in regulated and compliance-based industries include “Sierra.Finance” and “Williamsport.Lawyer,” Dhillon says. If you’re looking for your own custom domain, “.money” is still available, according to Dhillon.

This is the first part in a two-part series on advisor website trends.