A survey from the American Bar Association shows that 87% of law firms have a website, although the percentage is much smaller for solo lawyers with only 59% having a website. Having an effective website makes your law firm look professional and helps potential clients who are searching online find you.
Whether you have a website that needs an update or you don’t have one at all, creating law firm websites that have the right information and appearance can make the difference.
Keep reading to learn tips for creating a law firm website that helps you attract new clients.
Make It Clear What You Do
As an attorney, you know just how many different areas of law practice there are, but the average person might think they can call any lawyer when they have a legal issue. Your law firm website should make it clear from the beginning what you do and what type of law you practice. This helps clients find what they need and can help weed out clients that don’t fit your services, which saves you time.
Your homepage should be simple with a clear explanation of the services you provide and who you help. If you’re a criminal defense lawyer and don’t take any other types of cases, make that clear so someone with a labor dispute understands you can’t help. Whether you handle personal injury, family law, labor law, immigration law, or other areas, list those types of cases you take so people can determine right away if you can help them.
A services page that goes into more detail on the areas you practice is also useful. This can help people determine if their legal issue fits within one of those subcategories.
It’s also a good idea to share how you typically handle cases and what type of cases you like to take on within those categories. Maybe you’re an employment law attorney and you specialize in complicated discrimination cases. Perhaps you’re a family law attorney who takes on lots of military or high-asset divorce cases.
You might have extra training or education in alternative dispute resolution methods. People who want to avoid going to court will want to know this information. Perhaps you have a strong track record of winning in court, which can give potential clients confidence in your abilities if they feel litigation is the best option.
Tell People Why They Should Choose You
There were over 1.3 million active lawyers in the U.S. at the beginning of 2019. When someone needs a lawyer, they have plenty to choose from. Your website needs to tell them why you’re the right person for their case.
Having an About You page that describes your background can do just that. Highlight anything from your education or experience that makes you stand out. That might include a degree from a well-know law school, legal organizations you belong to, leadership roles you’ve held in those organizations, and awards you’ve received.
Include stats from past cases, such as how many cases you’ve won or the dollar amount you’ve helped clients receive in settlements. Include testimonials from past clients or statistics on how many new clients you’ve had due to referrals from past clients. These types of information serve as proof that you’re a qualified lawyer and might encourage potential clients to call you.
Make Contacting You Easy
One of the main purposes of law firm websites is to attract new clients. That’s a lot easier to do when you make it simple for clients to contact you.
Start with a separate contact page on your website. This should include your location and all methods of contacting you, such as your phone number and email address.
A contact form that clients can submit through the website is also an easy option. Leave a spot for the potential client to type a comment, so you know what they need and can better prepare to call them back.
Many law firm websites also include chat functions. Using chat bots can allow potential clients to get some basic information they need even if your staff isn’t available all the time for chatting. This software interacts in the chat box and can either provide answers or help visitors send you a message that you can respond to later.
Using call to action buttons throughout your website can also help. These CTAs encourage people to contact you and make it easy to do so.
Incorporate SEO for Law Firm Websites
What is the purpose of SEO for law firm websites? When you use SEO, you’re more likely to attract potential clients through organic searches because your site ranks higher in the results. The best law firm websites come up at the top of the search results when someone Googles them since most people choose from the top results.
Mastering SEO can take time, but using keywords that people might search to find a law firm like yours is a good start. Those keywords might include things such as “Chicago divorce lawyers” or “Nashville car accident lawyers.” Think about the things that your potential clients might search when they need legal help.
Using headers, short paragraphs, and intuitive navigation also helps your SEO. If your website is easy to use and keeps people on the page, your position in search results will likely increase.
Use an Attractive, User-Friendly Design
As much as people say looks don’t matter, they really do, especially when it comes to law firm website design. The second a potential client lands on your page, they’re judging your firm based on what they see and read.
Small law firm websites can look just as professional and big-time as massive law firms with hundreds of attorneys. Use a professional layout with high-quality images. When someone is hiring an attorney, they want a professional they can trust to handle their case, and how your website, office, and everything else looks helps establish that professional image.
The website also needs to be easy to use. Clear navigation along the top that helps visitors find important sections, such as your services page, about you page, and contact form, is essential. If a potential client can’t figure out how to get around your site, they’ll likely move on to another local attorney.
To check how user-friendly your website is, ask friends or acquaintances to visit the site and give you their first impressions. Create a survey for them to take asking about navigation and first impressions.
Create Effective Law Firm Websites
When it comes to law firm websites, the way it looks and functions could make the difference in whether or not a client calls you. Having a professional law firm website design with clear information that potential clients want can help grow your firm.
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