In today’s world, everyone uses the internet to look up goods, services, and other useful information. The potential for business growth on the internet is limitless. For businesses to effectively use the internet to find new customers, branding and advertising have become essential. Law firms have recently carried out a similar procedure. A good website is crucial for a legal firm’s expansion of its practice. Still, it is surprising to realise how little work most legal companies put into developing visually great and engaging websites.
When looking for new clients, having a functional and well-designed website is not sufficient in and of itself. It’s crucial that you also provide pertinent details that demonstrate your expertise in your field of specialisation and your moral principles. Additionally, you must take into account how competitive the market is and how important it is for you to differentiate yourself from the competition.
You’re not the only one who believes that your law practice requires a website or a website overhaul to remain competitive. A well-designed law firm website will draw visitors from search engines, online advertising, and social media. It needs to highlight your legal specialisations and the major victories you’ve had with your former clients. Now let us look at the fundamentals of building a website for your law firm.
The “Must-Have” Pages for a Law Firm Website
The general public who browses the internet goes to your law firm’s website to learn more about you as a lawyer and your practice. You want your website to have all the answers and important details people wouldn’t think to enquire about.
Your website must have the following pages in order to provide all the necessary information to both your visitors and the search engines that send them there:
Homepage
Many of the visitors to your homepage will be unfamiliar with your firm. Give them a brief rundown of your practice so they can decide if your services are a good fit for their needs. Include your brief qualifications, the types of law you practise, and why a customer should hire you.
Make sure it’s obvious what a visitor should do next if they want to do business with you. Do they need to call you? Enter their contact details and request a callback.
About Page
You can provide extra information about your practice on your About page. Include the following details, if possible:
- Your background, education, and experience
- The history of your firm
- The awards you received
- Preferrable positive testimonials from your previous clients
There should be more to your About page than just a bio. It should outline your qualifications as their greatest advocate, highlighting any expertise that sets you apart from the competitors.
Consider building distinct pages for each attorney in your firm if there are more than one or two. Web visitors should find their education, bar admissions, areas of expertise, publications, and other information on those pages.
Services Page
The areas of practice that you cover are described on your Services page. If your company has multiple practice areas, make separate landing pages for each one. Logically arrange your links to make it simple for users to find what they’re looking for.
Your services page won’t be as complicated if you run a smaller business, but simplicity can still appear professional.
Contact Page
When someone wants to contact you, they will go to your Contact page. Although it sounds straightforward, it is worthwhile to take the extra time to polish it.
A clear call to action, alternative contact options, business hours, social media links, and a map indicating the practice’s location are all included on this page.
Case Studies
The case studies page should go into great depth about the different triumphs you’ve won for your clientele. This social evidence encourages potential clients to hire you to represent them because they feel confident in your abilities.
Key Essentials for a Functional Law Firm Website
You’ve already encountered a variety of websites and have an idea for your own design. Some websites are professional, while others are straightforward but still do the job. On the other hand, some are simply downright terrible. Let’s look at the essential components of a law firm’s website to assist you in this regard.
Mobile-Friendliness
Nearly everyone is now using the internet as a source of information and is actively looking for goods and services. The unexpected fact is that they are utilising their mobile devices for this.
Google stated that their SERP algorithms would undergo a fundamental adjustment to accommodate mobile devices back in 2015. It means that all websites must be responsive to mobile devices, and law firm websites are no exception.
Easy Access and Navigation
You must remember that the people who use your website have a lot on their plates and little spare time. As a result, you want to make it as simple as possible for customers to find everything they might need on your website.
It will be simpler for them to choose other options the longer it takes them to access information on your website. Your website should be convenient and simple to use. It shouldn’t be difficult to open options for your services, contact information, and drop-down menus.
Clear and Transparent
Here, we discuss all topics about accountability and honesty. Nowadays, there is a lot going on online, including fraud and dishonest traders. As a practising attorney, you must establish an open line of communication with prospective clients.
This section is where you present testimonials, reputation, reviews, and brand history from your social media platforms. Additionally, you must demonstrate your enthusiasm for your line of work to potential customers. You can also add your track record to let potential clients know you have experience.
Emphasise Your Area of Expertise
You should mention your area of expertise in your official law firm. There are many distinct kinds of attorneys, just as the law is complex. You should be specific about the issues you handle.
The search engine is another noteworthy feature. Only relevant traffic will be directed to your website by Google. It’s also a good idea to submit your strongest case study.
Additionally, this helps to persuade your clients of your knowledge and experience. Building trust with potential customers is the goal, in addition to selling your success.
Reviews and Testimonials
Your legal practice website must include client testimonials. The majority of clients will only invest in your law practice in this manner. Additionally, there should be space left over for satisfied clients to provide their feedback. A practice that has satisfied clients will surely reap greater benefits.
Avoid Using Jargons
The last thing you want is for website visitors to get lost in the densely worded text. The language of the law is indeed rife with them. Make it simpler for your clients, nonetheless. Your website and blog should use clear, understandable language. Always remember to avoid using jargon in any of your content.
Don’t Forget the Visuals
The visual component contributes to the overall quality and draws website visitors’ attention. The ideal visuals to use on your law firm website can include;
- Photos – A professionally made high-resolution photo will showcase your style and demeanour while presenting a positive impression of your legal firm.
- Slideshows/Videos – An advantage of a law firm website is high-quality video production. Statistics also indicate that videos have a significant influence on the majority of web users. Additionally, it influences how long visitors stay on a specific website.
Effective and Functional Call-To-Action
An effective and functional Call-To-Action is the first step in turning visitors into customers. They are also known as CTAs and are incredibly successful when incorporated into the sites. However, don’t let it be a factor that deters your users. Let’s look at the elements to take into account while employing CTAs;
- Placement – It’s crucial to use tact when deciding where to place the CTA buttons. It is because displaying CTAs too early on the webpage could turn away potential customers. You want to give them a chance to learn about the purpose of your website. It is the reason why you should put informative material first, followed by other components.
- Size – Given that some users have vision impairment, making sure the CTA buttons are large enough is important. Don’t allow this, though, to affect the page’s appearance.
- Colour – The CTA buttons should stand out by having a different colour. The user of the website will be drawn in by this.
Start Building Your Law Firm Website With Us!
You can start building or improving your law firm website now that you know its essentials, including which pages to develop and how to design them for user-friendliness.
However, you must remember that when it comes to luring the best prospects, the elements mentioned above are ineffective on their own. Other technological components are required if you want your website to turn visitors into leads and reach the right target audience. Here is where SEO tactics and resources will be useful.
The best thing about hiring a professional website design agency for law firm like Digital Rescue for your law firm is that we have the skills required in SEO practices because we work together with our sister company TopRankings, the leading SEO agency in Melbourne.
With us working with your law firm’s website, you can rest assured that you will achieve the expected outcomes in no time. Contact us today to get started with your own legal services website.