Gone are the days when firms can rely on a good reputation and word-of-mouth to attract clients. Clients want to research you first. Your website will be the first point of contact they have, so it needs to make a statement.
If you want to stay ahead in a competitive field, you have to demonstrate to clients that you offer what they’re looking for. A good, well-designed website can help you do just that.
If you’re thinking it’s time for a website refresh, here are seven design tips to make your website stand out from the legal crowd.
This may seem like an obvious one, but many websites focus too much on overloading with content rather than the aesthetics of the site. Of course, content and information are important elements. You should be touting your firm’s expertise. But how your website is perceived by customers is important for your business.
If you use strong branding with your law firm logo design and brand colors displayed across the website, it gives a sense of unity and professionalism. A well-designed website will include branding at every opportunity.
The user experience is incredibly important when it comes to a website. If it’s too confusing or difficult to navigate, users will not stick around to try to figure it out — they’ll move onto the next firm in their search results.
Help the user find what they need with as few clicks as possible.
Include what sets you apart from other law firms that may specialize in the same area of practice as you. Do you have a paperless law firm? Write about it! You care about operating efficiently and not wasting paper — and these are things that clients love to see.
You can do this through your website design. Include highlights on every page about your achievements. This can also help build your credibility and trust from clients. But don’t stop there. Include achievements in the individual profiles of your team members so clients know about the credentials of the lawyers in the firm.
It should be one of your main goals to optimize your website for search engine optimization (SEO). For example, if your firm deals in family law, you’ll want to be high in the Google search when a prospective client types “divorce lawyer in my area.” Include keywords throughout the text naturally, and only when it fits in with the narrative of what you’re writing about. (You can harm your SEO if you try to awkwardly oversaturate your text with keywords.)
You could also look into SEO strategies for affiliate marketing, where you include your website as a link on other relevant websites.
Testimonials are the holy grail, so include them wherever you can. Create a dedicated section on your website to client success stories and ask some of your most loyal clients to say a few kind words about your firm and how you’ve helped them in the past.
“The user experience is incredibly important when it comes to a website. If it’s too confusing or difficult to navigate, users will not stick around to try to figure it out.”
If a customer sees that you already have experience in successfully dealing with a case similar to theirs, they may be more likely to contact you.
People aren’t just accessing websites via computers anymore. They browse via iPads, smartphones, notebooks and just about anything where they can access the internet. Therefore, your website needs to be highly compatible with many different formats.
If it’s not, a customer may be tempted to click onto a competitor’s website that is easier to navigate on their device.
Lastly, a fast, responsive website can make all the difference when it comes to attracting clients. If clients can’t even click onto your website without it crashing or loading slowly, they certainly won’t be interested in what services you can offer them. Even the best designs won’t matter if your site isn’t functioning properly.