The first impression decides — especially for trust professions
For a tax practice, a notary or a law firm, the website is rarely where the sale happens. It is where trust is built or broken before the first conversation even begins.
A potential client visiting the site for the first time is unconsciously asking one question: "Can I entrust this person with my numbers?" An outdated or generic website answers that question with a quiet "maybe not".
That was exactly the brief for the Strohmaier tax practice in St. Peter am Ottersbach: to create a digital presence that makes the competence and discretion of a practice established for two decades visible.
The starting point
Mag. Marianne Strohmaier has run her practice since 2006. Over twenty years of experience, a loyal client base, a clear style: "Clarity in numbers, calm in decisions." Personal, discreet, without empty phrases.
What was missing was a website that radiates exactly that. And there was a special requirement: the practice sits right on the Slovenian border and serves clients in three languages — German, English and Slovenian. The web presence had to account for that from the start.
Three decisions that shape the presence
1. Editorial design instead of the tax-office standard
Most tax advisor websites look the same: blue accents, a stock photo of a calculator, a list of services. Functional, but interchangeable — and interchangeability is poison for a trust profession.
We chose a different path: a calm, editorial design with serif typography, warm neutrals and generous whitespace. The presence feels more like a well-designed magazine than a government form. That is not decoration — it signals at first glance that careful work is done here.
2. Trilingual as a core principle, not an afterthought
Many websites "solve" multilingualism with a single translated page or an automatic translator button. It feels half-hearted.
At Strohmaier, the entire website is available in German, English and Slovenian — cleanly maintained, with correct metadata and URL structure per language. For a border region, that is not an extra but a question of reach.
3. Document upload: a feature that eases daily work
A website can do more than inform. We integrated an area where clients can submit their receipts and documents directly online. Less email back-and-forth, fewer lost attachments, a clear workflow for the practice.
A feature like this sounds small, but over a year it saves real hours in day-to-day practice work.
Technically: Next.js as the foundation
As with all our projects, we built with Next.js. The reasons are always the same:
- Server-side rendering for instant load times on every device
- Optimised image processing that carries the editorial design without delay
- Clean, language-specific URL structure — essential for trilingualism and for SEO
- Local SEO for searches like "Steuerberater Südoststeiermark" or "Steuerberatung St. Peter am Ottersbach"
The result: Lighthouse scores above 90 across all categories, fully responsive, live in under three weeks.
What this project shows
A good website for a trust profession does not sell loudly. It creates calm and clarity — and translates the care that goes into the actual work into a digital presence that lets you feel exactly that care.
If you would like to see the result: stb-strohmaier.at
And if you work in a profession where trust is everything — tax, law, medicine, consulting — get in touch. The first conversation is free and non-binding.