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Your law firm’s website wants to make an impact. After all, your site is the first point of contact for many of your potential customers. You want to capture their interest, identify your credibility, and convince them that you are the right lawyer to incorporate. them. Whether you are creating a new site or redesigning an existing one, the following most productive law firm Internet design practices will help you create an attractive and functional site.
Here are 16 most productive practices and examples of law firm design:
As with everything in life, when it comes to your law firm’s website, first impressions matter. And that first impression will occur within the first 50 milliseconds after a visitor lands on your site. This means you have 0. 05 seconds to capture their interest. before they click.
So how do you make a first impression? You do it with an undeniable and professional design, with a touch of personality, while guiding your visitors to the data they need.
Example: This is precisely what the business law firm Vela Wood does. Its homepage features a stunning cityscape image, with a tagline that is undeniable and appealing. The LEGO brick analogy it looks like is a playful take on one of the company’s practice areas. This laughter causes visitors to click through to the site to see if the homepage’s personality is reflected (it is) and, in doing so, learn more about how the company can meet their needs.
Lawyers tend to need to integrate, which gives rise to a multitude of ready-made legal firm sites. But let’s face it: the global legal world is incredibly competitive. And that means your site wants to stand out from the rest.
However, a balance is needed: studies show that other people obviously prefer sites that are undeniable and familiar. Therefore, you need to know when to meet user expectations. For example, other people expect navigation links at the most sensible time or left-looking of Internet pages, as well as a clickable logo that links to the home page.
Example: Beer Attorney does a smart job by balancing the exclusive and the traditional. From the firm’s highly specialized specialty (obviously marked on the navigation bar) to presenting its attorneys as another beer flavor, its creativity is evident. But traditional elements are also present, with a navigation bar located in the most sensitive part and a logo that links to the company’s homepage.
It can be tempting to gather as much content and photos as imaginable on one page. After all, you need to keep the visitor’s attention. But a cluttered internet page can actually have the opposite effect: too many elements on a page can cause confusion and cause visitors to click as temporarily as possible. In fact, 84. 6% of web designers believe that clutter-looking web pages are the most common mistake businesses make.
Example: But keeping things undeniable doesn’t have to mean boring. PortaLaw, a labor and human rights law firm located in Vancouver, British Columbia, has a sleek homepage that provides a wealth of data without any hint of saturation. People who are faced with a work-related legal factor know they’re in the right place and there’s a transparent call-to-action (CTA) on the “Book a meeting” button in the navigation bar.
When a visitor lands on your site, they need you to express elements, such as a call to action or a variety of text. You can achieve this by arranging the elements on your page according to their priority, a design principle known as visual hierarchy. Size, color, contrast, and placement are some tactics to prioritize elements on a page well.
Example: Arnold
How mobile-friendly is your site?Mobile responsiveness is a must in today’s world, where clients are more likely to search for an attorney from their mobile devices as they are from their desktop computer. This means that it is imperative that your online page works in the same way. both on a cell phone and on a monitor or computer screen, regardless of the length of the device or its orientation (vertical or horizontal).
You can check how mobile-optimized your site is through Google’s mobile-friendly test.
Case in point: Women’s rights lawyer Tamara Holder’s site is impressive on a desktop computer, with a “Let Us Know How We Can Help” touch form prominently displayed on the right side and distinctions below the page. Viewed on mobile devices, the site loses none of its intensity and maintains its capability in portrait and landscape orientation.
People expect sites to load quickly, and even more so when it comes to mobile browsing. In fact, cellular upload rates everything from watch time to conversion rates to bounce rates. An added bonus? Google takes page speed into account to determine mobile search rankings.
This means that it’s very important to pay attention to the loading speed of your website, whether it’s on desktop or mobile. Some web design elements, such as the length and number of photographs and videos, can have a massive effect on your site’s load. times. You can check your site’s speed by employing a tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Example: We tested the online page of a giant company that has a lot of graphics, photographs, and videos. But the site is rarely very slow: When we tested it on PageSpeed Insights, it scored 99 on desktop and 85 on mobile. Many of the company sites we analyzed had mobile scores below 50, so it was fantastic to see an online page full of content and graphics loading quickly on mobile.
Poorly structured navigation links confuse your visitors and make them more likely to search for the data they need. Techniques to make your navigation user-friendly include:
Example: Employee advocacy firm Custis Law checks all the boxes on the Ease of Navigation checklist, with a constant navigation bar with a small number of number one navigation links, a search box above that bar, and a click to call “Free. “Check out » CTA more social media links in the most responsive right corner. Scroll down and look for a convenient list of navigation links in the footer.
Even if a visitor finds you online, they will occasionally contact you via email or phone when they decide to talk to you. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep any of these touch methods visible at all times. For greater mobile responsiveness, you can use click-to-call and click-to-email CTA formats. And don’t offer other tactile strategies, such as touch forms, live chat through a chatbot, social media messages, and location information.
Example: the multidisciplinary company Chadi
Your site visitors are there for one reason only: they’re looking for an attorney who can help them with a specific legal issue. It’s vital to highlight your installations on your homepage and have transparent links in your navigation bar to the pages. describing each of your practice spaces. Do you remember the 50 milliseconds?You need a potential consumer to see without delay that you are offering them the legal facilities they need.
Example: When you get to the Bhatt Law Group homepage, you will see each of their 3 practice spaces presented in the CTA buttons. Clicking on those CTAs will bring up a one-line summary of the domain of law, the attorneys practicing in that domain, and some other CTA button to receive more information. Also, when you hover over each of the practice domain links in the navigation bar, you’ll see the subpractice domain categories. Hover over them and you’ll get a menu that the main points express types of issues.
We all know that other people hire lawyers, not law firms. And that means your lawyer’s bio pages are an excellent piece of real estate on the internet. This is not the time for any of your lawyers to be shy. It is the best position to gather all your honors, awards and recognitions, and display a variety of stories of good fortune and visitor testimonials.
Example: TSMP, a business law firm in Singapore, does a phenomenal job of displaying the achievements of its lawyers on its bio pages, a design that is readable and eye-catching. Each attorney’s bio includes photographs, consumer testimonials, tactile information, and awards. , outstanding reports and appointments. There is also an interview with the lawyer, links to recent articles they have written, and their most recent mentions in the media.
There’s no better way to get guests to take action than with a link or CTA button. You have CTAs on each and every page on your site. From undeniable “Learn More” requests to “Book Your Consultation” requests, your CTA encourages guests to engage. with your site. And in the online world, this is a win. The key to an effective CTA is to make them obviously visual (the buttons look good) and place them where a guest would naturally carry out the specified action.
Example: The homepage of the Pennsylvania midsize business Hangley, Aronchick, Segal, Pudlin
According to the CDC, one in four adults lives with a disability. This statistic highlights the importance of accessibility in Internet design. But accessibility to Internet sites is also mandatory by law. And while the law doesn’t outline any express criteria, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide helpful guidance.
You can check the accessibility of your page online with the WAVE web accessibility assessment tool. In addition to checking features such as alt text for symbols, which helps devices read symbol descriptions, this tool also checks ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Apps). , a specification made up of HTML tags that help screen readers.
Example: When the homepage URLs and internal pages of the Seattle immigration and family law firm, Zafiro Law, were connected to the WAVE tool, it showed that the site was employing accessibility features such as captions for the selected symbols. text for screen readers and ARIA specifications. For example, on the company’s child care practices page, the first symbol is read through screen readers as “father kissing his son and smiling. “
We can sum up this productive practice in a single sentence: “Say no to stock photography. “Visitors are not inspired by generic photographs. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay away from photographs. In fact, you want photography on your website: the right photographs capture the interest of your visitors, increase the time they spend on your site, and help identify your credibility. Consider hiring a professional photographer to help you build acceptance by capturing moments of authenticity.
Example: The practice of felon defense firm JLongtin Law focuses on the role that intellectual aptitude issues play in felon cases. The company’s slogan is “compassionate defense against criminals” and the images that appear accentuate it at all times. From the company’s founder, Jennifer Longtin, to the team around her, whose reviews are expressed on blogs, the images radiate an original and warm vibe that pairs well with theArray’s overall tone.
Simply put, video marketing works: Video marketing improves lead generation and conversion rates. It also has the added benefit of extending the amount of time visitors spend on a page. And there’s the acceptance factor as true: a video in which you talk about a legal factor or answer a legal query that other people ask allows potential clients to see for themselves what you look like and whether or not you’re someone they want to represent them.
Example: When you look beyond the legal aspects of a personal injury case, there is a story to tell. And Kelley Law Firm | Uustal tells these stories using videos excellently. The company decided to frame those stories around the theme of personal victories, turning tragedy into something uplifting. And each video also serves as a case study to show prospective customers how the company is doing. .
Readability in online page design is about making the text readable. This is where design elements like typography and white area come into play. You should choose undisputed fonts, larger than small, and use bullet points and short paragraphs for the white area around the words. Remember, scannable content is essential: readers scan websites for key topics, and you should make it less difficult for them.
Case in point: DUI attorney Teresa DiNardi uses the Proxima Nova font, a sans-serif font that can be read seamlessly on small, giant screens. It also makes clever use of bullet points, short paragraphs, H1 and H2 headings, and white space. , resulting in content that can be scanned seamlessly.
A Thomson Reuters survey found that 89% of respondents looking for a lawyer were looking for information about their reputation and 68% read reviews. This highlights the need for law firm websites to include social evidence and other content that constructions are accepted as true and credible. Consider adding pages engaged with testimonials, reviews, or results from a case study. It’s also a smart concept to include other social proof bureaucracy throughout your site, such as ratings and recommendations from external sites, media. Recognition and membership agreement.
Case in point: Staver Accident Injury Lawyers personal injury law firm highlights its social proof just above the homepage. Visitors who enter the site see an instant view that includes a link to the company’s Google reviews. Additional tabs display awards, express reviews, and case results. Scroll down the homepage and you’ll find other sections that feature more social proof. The site also has a page dedicated to reviews and a few others to case results, and reviews and awards are featured on some of its practice domain pages.
Whether you want to redesign your existing law firm’s online page or want an online page for your new company, these more productive practices of a law firm’s online page design can give you a head start on creating a site that potential clients and search engines will love. For more information, check out our step-by-step advisor on how to create an online page.
While you can do it yourself for free, online page developers make it much less difficult to create an online page for a law firm on your own. Our list of the most productive online page builders will put you on the right track to finding the online page builder you need. need.
At a minimum, your law firm’s online page includes pages about your firm, practice areas, and attorneys. It also has a touch page that shows how consumers can succeed in you.
SEO stands for search engine optimization and is vital for a law firm’s online page because, if done correctly, your site can rank higher in search results.
Although HTML is the basis of all static pages on the Internet, most Internet sites now use CSS for layout and JavaScript, as well as other improvements. Web design software can already create those features with templates.
Website developers are highly scalable, and their plan can be seamlessly changed to suit the desires of your development team. If you go even beyond the most sensible level of your service, many providers will offer enterprise-grade features at traditional pricing. It will be worth contacting your system’s visitor support team for more information.
Belle Wong is a freelancer specializing in small business, private finance, banking, and technology/SAAS. He spends his free time testing the newest productivity apps and writing his most recent novel. Connect with Belle on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Kelly Main is a marketing specialist specializing in virtual marketing, online advertising, and online page design and development. Prior to joining the team, she was a content producer at Fit Small Business, where she was a strategist covering small business marketing content. is a former Google Tech entrepreneur and holds a master’s degree in international marketing from Edinburgh Napier University. He is also a columnist for Inc. Magazine.