Attorney Tips: What is Your Website Missing?

An attorney’s website is one of the most powerful tools for attracting new clients. In fact, an attorney’s external marketing efforts should always lead back to their law firm’s website; with this in mind, it’s easy to see just how important the website itself actually is. Law firm websites that appear to be out of date, lack clarity, are not optimized for mobile devices, and/or do not offer anything to set them apart from the websites of other firms are unlikely to experience the level of success they otherwise could. In a world where potential clients have access to thousands of options for legal representation right at their fingertips, a website that doesn’t compete is unlikely to hold anyone’s attention for very long.

To be competitive in the legal industry, a law firm’s website needs to include the following elements:

• Clarity: As soon as a potential client visits the website, it should be clear what practice areas the law firm deals with. The website should be self-explanatory in regard to its navigation (i.e. user friendly), easily directing visitors to different parts of the website including attorney bios, potential awards and accreditations, unique offerings such as blogs and videos, as well as a dedicated FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Within each of these pages, the relevant information should be laid out in a neat, easy-to-understand way. Information like the law firm’s payment structure and years of experience and/or success rate of the firm’s attorneys should be transparently easy to find.
• Modernization: One of the biggest mistakes attorneys make is failing to update their website. Not only should all of the content on the side be up-to-date, but the design of the website itself should be updated to compete in the modern legal marketplace. For example, design color schemes that are too dark or too colorful are not particularly modern and can give the impression that a law firm is out of touch with the world their clients are living in. Similarly, failing to update attorney profile photos every so often comes across as both careless and confusing; a client should be able to immediately recognize their attorney’s face when they finally meet either in-person or virtually.
• Mobile Optimization: Internet-capable phones and mobile tablets have changed the way people search for everything from a restaurant to eat at to attorneys to represent them. The ease and convenience of being able to search for anything including legal help on-the-go has increased the necessity for law firms to optimize their websites for mobile use. If an attorney’s website does not load quickly on a mobile device, cannot be properly interacted with, or simply looks bad on a little screen, these are all signs that a website is lacking in mobile optimization. It needs to be just as easy for a client to navigate and engage with your website from their mobile device as it would be from a computer.
• Unique Offerings: Every attorney and law firm should strive to include unique offerings on their website and social media. Blogs and attorney videos are two easy ways to provide potential clients with something of value even before a consultation; in fact, if a potential client discovers information that is useful to them in an attorney’s unique offerings, they are more likely to reach out for a consultation. While unique offerings are often approached as an extra to be considered once the above elements have been achieved, it is truly essential to remaining competitive in an expanding legal marketplace. Additionally, unique offerings done correctly can even enhance all of the above elements, creating a truly great first impression for visitors.

To learn more about what might be missing from your law firm’s website, reach out to a legal marketing expert.