Have you ever wondered what makes a great law firm website? Have you ever thought about how a website could help your business succeed? Well, in today’s digital age, a strong online presence is necessary, no, REQUIRED for law firms to stay afloat. In this article, I’ll guide you through some must-have features that will greatly improve your law firm website. While the features aren’t necessary to operate your business, they will increase the likelihood of reach outs.
Every Law Firm Website Needs A Call to Action
In lay-mans terms, a Call to Action (CTA) is an attention-grabbing invitation that highlights what your visitor might be looking for. CTA’s are spread through the website but are most notably seen on the homepage, usually in the form of a button or a link. The reason why you’d want to include CTA’s is because they push your visitor in the right direction. CTA’s essentially help you control the user’s visiting experience. If you want a visitor to reach out for a complimentary consultation, you aren’t going to add a button that says “LEAVE A REVIEW” or something right? Of course not. You’ll try to push them to get in touch so you can take them on as a client.
Here’s an example of what a law firm website CTA looks like (this one sends you to my contact page):
I’ll be honest, CTA’s are kinda corny in my opinion, but I can’t deny the results they give. CTA’s play a key role in customer/client conversion. You’d be a fool not to have at least one on your home or landing page.
An About Us Page for your Firm
Every Law Firm website needs a page dedicated to their firm, their staff, and their noteworthy success stories. This page could be as little as one paragraph or as large as you want. Generally speaking, the more you share about your firm the better. Giving potential clients some background on who they’re dealing with and what you’ve done for others is a great way to build comfort. An About Us page found on law firm websites usually contain a section dedicated to the head attorney(s), their educational background(s), their track record(s), and any particular case(s) they are known for. Some law firms also list their associate attorneys, paralegals, and other operational employees.
When in doubt, its best to have an About Us page. It’s expected nowadays. Plus, at the very least, even if you don’t have much to write, you can at least use it for another CTA.
Law Firm Websites Need A High Quality Blog
One of the best ways to attract clients is through blogging. A law firm website that provides free, up-to date, invaluable information will rank higher on Google. The reason for this is, simply put, the more content you produce, the more likely you are to be found. Blogging is the way to achieve this. Posting on a regular basis cements you as an authority figure, which is especially useful if you handle very niche cases. What it all boils down to is, you want to be known as a reliable source of information : an expert in your field. If you know what you’re talking about (and you should, given your position), you’re more likely to hear from more people reaching out. And in some cases, you may end up getting other people linking back to you. This helps your Google rank as well.
Blogging lets people know you can help them. At the end of the day It’s a form of free advertising too, so you may as well make the most of it.
If you need some ideas on what to post, here are some other law firm blogs to look at. Some have posts dedicated to certain laws (VTL-1101 – Benjamin Goldman Law Office) while others go over common questions, like this blog for Copyright Law.
Landing Pages for Every Case Your Firm Handles
While you could get away with listing your services on one page, you’re going to get better mileage out of your site by making a separate page for each. Why is this you ask? Well it’s because in doing so, you increase the likelihood of Google and other people finding your firm. Like I mentioned before, the more content you produce, the better. When every service is listed on one page, there’s only one page people can find. If you have multiple (each with a decent amount of relevant information), the chance of being discovered increases exponentially.
One page per topic keeps your visitor from suffering information overload. Content wise, it gives you a chance to list some common questions and answers for each particular situation. Performance wise, the page would load faster because its not filled with unrelated content, and when it comes to search engines like Google, having one page per topic makes the SEO algorithm happy.
Consider this : Someone looking for a divorce lawyer wouldn’t want to scroll through a section on how your firm handles personal Injury cases. It’ll just annoy them and make them leave. So why not follow the idea of divorce and keep things separate.
A Contact Page
Does this really need to be said? I’m afraid so. Believe it or not, some law firm websites I’ve come across don’t have a dedicated contact page. I mean, sure, the firm’s address and phone number in the footer work but … really?
Not everyone’s going to look at the footer. And if people have difficulties trying to locate your contact info, no one’s going to reach out to the firm and you won’t make any money.
A dedicated contact page is a must. It’s probably the most important page your website should have. You can be as simple or as fancy as you want when it comes to the contact page, but it should always be accessible from the site’s navigation bar. CTA’s should also forward visitors there.
On the contact page you should list your firm’s information, hours of operation, holidays, and any other type of communication you use, like Zoom, Skype, and so on. If you have a booking system for appointments, be sure to share it here as well. If you don’t have a booking system available, check out Calendly. I use it for my business. (Not a referral link.)
Testimonials from Satisfied Clients
Every law firm website needs testimonials. How else are prospecting clients supposed to gauge your firm’s reliability and success rate? Testimonials are typically placed on the home page and highlight the best qualities of your firm. In some cases testimonials will have their own dedicated page, but in my opinion this is overkill. It’s not necessary unless you really want to show a long running exceptional track record. Before adding any client testimonials to your law firm website please be sure to receive consent! Just because someone writes a review for your business doesn’t mean you can share it anywhere!
Summary
Now that you’re more aware of what a law firm website needs, you can take the appropriate steps to include each suggestion above. They all play a vital role in bringing value to your business. In my opinion, the most important things to add from this list would be a contact page, a blog, and pages for each service or case type handled. At the very least, add these.
Seeking more information on law firm websites? Would you like to speak with someone regarding law firm website design? If so, feel free to reach out to me. I am a web designer that focuses on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs establish and grow their online presence. I have experience working with law firms and can definitely get you the help you’re looking for.
(Here’s another example of a CTA!)