Effective law firm websites are built to be informative and generate new business for your firm. Your potential clients have likely found your firm’s website because they are dealing with an important legal issue and they are looking for guidance on what steps, if any, they should take next. As an attorney, you should focus on elements of your website that easily convey who you are and who you help so potential clients can feel confident in their decision to hire you.
What Makes a High-Quality User Experience?
When making design decisions for your firm’s website, it’s best to consider the intent of your potential clients. Most of your website visitors have been matched with your site by Google based on what they’ve searched for – this is typically a legal question or an inquiry for a certain type of attorney in their area. Once they’ve reached your website, make it easy for them to find what they came for, and then, keep them engaged with plenty of informative content.
Successful law firm websites are familiar, approachable, and actionable. Familiarity refers to the degree to which your website matches with what a potential client is expecting when visiting your website. Conventional navigation with good information architecture is the foundation to fostering website familiarity with your web visitors.
Here at LawLytics, we recommend a “three-click” test to determine if your navigation is easy to use. If your website’s sitemap is overly complicated, your potential client may abandon your website. You have passed the three-click test and your navigation is sound if a web visitor can get to their desired page in three clicks or less.
Good website navigation is also dependent on the organization of your website content. As a starting point for writing content, consider common questions or problems your clients typically address with you. Establish a few pillars of content (such as practice areas) that you can build upon over time with subtopics that become increasingly specific.
Approachable law firm websites use language that is easy to understand for those without a legal background. Avoid using legal jargon as much as possible, and always accompany legal terms with plenty of explanations and examples. Keep your content as client-focused as possible to show potential clients that your firm cares about them and can solve their legal problem.
Law firm websites with high conversion rates also have clear calls-to-action. Make it simple to get in touch with your firm with several calls-to-action, accessible contact forms, and click-to-call phone numbers that make sense for visitors accessing your site on both desktop and mobile. Your website should also have a valid and universally applied security certificate that will build trust with a potential client and make them feel comfortable in using your website to get in touch with you.
What Should I Avoid for Effective Website Design?
There are many things to consider when making decisions about your law firm’s website including the design choices that can work against you and negatively impact your firm’s conversion rates. However, there tend to be a few common offenders that are both easy to avoid and address.
One tempting design choice for law firms is flashy elements such as multiple image sliders and other moving aspects of your website that ultimately slow down the page load speed and distract the potential client from their original intent. Websites with slower load times cause potential clients to avoid engaging with your content because they have to work harder to consume the information they’re seeking.
Additionally, some of these flashy design elements may not perform well across the different devices that potential clients are using to access your website. if your website is not optimized for performance across multiple devices, you may cause frustration among web visitors and lose out on potential clients. Your firm’s website must be responsive and needs to function well for desktop, mobile, and tablet devices to accommodate potential clients however they are trying to reach you.
To maximize the business driven from your firm’s website, it’s best to focus on substance and value. If you’re wondering whether to include an unnecessary or purely aesthetic design element, think first about if it will function to engage your potential clients with the written content. If the answer is no or maybe, then it’s safest to remove that design element. Potential clients don’t come to your website to be entertained, so there’s no need for bells and whistles to engage them with your content. Avoid overcomplicating the purpose of your website. The purpose should only be: informing, building trust, and converting new business.
How LawLytics Makes Website Design Easy
LawLytics can help you with building a robust, lucrative, and fully supported website without overspending or struggling with conventional website design platforms. Our team works with your firm to strategically design a website that can easily attract and engage your ideal client. LawLytics also integrates with popular platforms and software you may already be using such as case management systems, chat features, phone tracking, and payment portals. To learn more about how our attorney-specific platform can best serve your firm’s needs, schedule a 20-minute interactive demo.
