There are good and bad reasons to have more than one law firm website. Whether it makes sense for your law firm depends on several factors.
When it makes sense to have multiple law firm websites.
There are several good reasons to have more than one law firm website. Here are a few:
Factor 1: You practice in separate locations or you have incompatible practice types
Potential clients respond to law firm websites that provide clarity. Clarity makes them feel secure. It aligns them with the firm. It moves them to trust the firm, contact the firm, and hire the firm. Conversely, when potential clients are confused by the content on, or organization of, a law firm website, they lose confidence in the firm, and often leave the website never to return. If you practice in several, separate locations or you have incompatible practice types, placing everything on one law firm website is likely to confuse potential clients.
For example, if you practice in several different states, it can be smart to have a website for each state in which you practice. Trying to describe the same law, penalties, and processes for different states on one website is off-putting for many potential clients.
If you have “conflicting” practice areas, you may want to have more than one website. For example, personal injury/medical malpractice (or DUI defense/criminal defense) are considered compatible practice types and they’re easy to keep on a single site.
However, if you practice criminal defense and family law, for example, you may confuse your potential clients or give them the wrong impression by keeping those two seemingly conflicting practice areas on the same website.
Factor 2: You want to become a market leader/thought leader in a specific practice area
When you want to focus on becoming a market leader and/or thought leader in a specific practice area, you may want more than one website.
Even if you handle other cases or matters, having an extra website in this instance can be a viable strategy because you can create a highly focused website on the topic in which you want to become a leader. Meanwhile, you can continue to use your first website to keep business related to other cases or matters coming in, without confusion on the part of your potential clients.
Factor 3: You want to target a specific, time-sensitive type of case or matter
Another reason to have more than one website is when you’re focused on a specific type of case or matter that’s time-sensitive.
Take mass torts marketing, for example: Let’s say there is a dangerous drug or device that gets recalled resulting in multi-district litigation. You may want to have a dedicated website to drive potential plaintiffs to. The benefit of this strategy is that, by having a dedicated website, potential plaintiffs will be focused and not distracted by anything else, including your other practice areas.
Counterpoints to having multiple websites.
When done for the wrong reasons having more than one firm website can be counterproductive. Here are several bad reasons for having more than one law firm website.
Counterpoint 1: You don’t have a defined objective for having more than one law firm website
If you decide to have a second website just to have it, it will likely fail to produce the kind of business you want, and you’ll likely waste a lot of time and money on it.
Counterpoint 2: Your competition has a lot of law firm websites
What about a situation in which your competition has a lot of websites? Does that mean you should have more than one website, too?
If the only reason that you want another website is because your competition has multiple sites, is that your competition does, then try to come up with a better reason. Just because your competition has more than one website doesn’t mean that it’s a strategy that necessarily works for them — or maybe it did in the past, but doesn’t any longer. And, if it is working for them, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work for your firm.
Counterpoint 3: Do you have the time to do it right?
If you don’t have time to produce content for multiple websites, it’s better to stick with one site or hire a professional writer to help you.
See how LawLytics makes multiple websites easy.
If you’re thinking about having more than one law firm website, the decision should be based on strategy. LawLytics makes it easy to have one or more websites while keeping you in control and keeping your costs fixed and low. To learn more, schedule a 20-minute interactive demo with us.
