800-713-0161

Scrollers versus Multi-Page Websites: Which is Better for Law Firms?

by Feb 20, 2024

Are you looking for new opportunities to redefine your brand and grow your law practice? If so, you might be rethinking how to use the Internet to benefit you. Multiple ways exist, from your website to Google Ads to social media marketing and more. According to the National Law Review, though, 

“Your law firm’s website is one of the most important assets your business has when it comes to attracting clients. Not only can it actually bring clients to your firm (via traffic), but the content on your website plays a crucial role in communicating what your firm is about and why clients should work with you.”

To reap the benefits of this important law firm asset, you must first have a website. If you have one already, then next, you must determine whether your law firm website is performing as it should and attracting new clients. If it’s not, then a new law firm website is in order. 

But, creating a new website requires time and money – the very resources solo attorneys and small law firms covet simply because they need it. Knowing the latter, agencies offer “free” websites if you buy into their marketing or legal management services. To resource-strapped law firms, a free website can sound pretty enticing. 

These “free” websites are typically scrollers, which are one-page websites, and they are pretty common on the Internet. The question then becomes: Does this “free” law firm website perform? Can they get results? Or, are they just a ploy to attract new clients to the agency but, in the end, cost the law firm more resources than anticipated (or budgeted)?

Here, we highlight the pros and cons of single- versus multi-page websites just so you can get a good understanding of what they do and how they perform. Then, we identify and discuss two factors that really matter about your law firm website’s role in bringing in new clients and growing your law practice, and how single- versus multi-page websites impact or interact with these two factors. 

The Pros and Cons of Single- and Multi-Page Law Firm Websites

Scrollers and multi-page websites both possess inherent benefits and drawbacks. A summary of those pros and cons is described below.

Scrollers, or Single-Page Websites

A scroller website presents all of its content on a single, continuous page. Users navigate through the content by scrolling down or using anchor links that jump to specific sections. For law firms, this means identifying who you are, what legal services you provide, and more, all on one page.

Top 3 Single-Page Website Benefits
  1. Simplicity and Focus. Scroller websites can be visually appealing because, by design, they create a seamless experience. Information is presented in a linear fashion meant to facilitate user experience.
  2. Mobile-Friendly. Scroller websites are generally mobile-friendly. Users can scroll through content effortlessly on smartphones and tablets without the need to use a navigation menu. Mobile-friendliness matters because people now use their smartphones to search for answers to their questions more than they do with their computers.
  3. Reduced Loading Times. Since all content is on one page, there are fewer page loads, leading to quicker loading times. (Other factors, like images or videos, though, can impact loading times.)
Top 3 Single-Page Website Drawbacks
  1. Limited Content Depth. Scroller websites typically do not provide in-depth information on various topics because all content must fit on a single page. The more information provided, the more convoluted the page becomes, negating the benefit of reduced loading times.
  2. SEO Challenges. Search engine optimization (SEO) can be more challenging for scroller websites because the absence of in-depth information means limited opportunities for a diverse range of keywords. For example, scrollers lack distinct URLs for individual pages, making it harder for search engines to index and rank specific, targeted content. 
  3. Trust and Credibility Challenges. Like SEO challenges, with minimal content, it is harder to develop trust and credibility with prospective clients. For example, limited space limits your ability to provide key information that visitors seek. This may cause them to click on another website where they can immediately find the information they want. They now put their trust in this other website to provide answers to their questions and concerns.

Multi-Page Websites

Multi-page websites have distinct pages for different content or topics. Each page typically focuses on a specific aspect. For law firms, this means separate pages for attorney profiles, practice areas, FAQs, case summaries, client testimonials, law blogs, and more.

Top 4 Multi-Page Website Benefits
  1. SEO-Friendly Structure. Multi-page websites are inherently more SEO-friendly. Each page can be optimized for specific keywords, improving search engine visibility. Plus, there’s room for additional on-page search engine ranking strategies, like organizing the page with optimized titles and headers and inserting optimized images or external and internal links.
  2. Content Depth. Multi-page websites allow for greater depth and detail on specific topics. When you proactively answer questions and share valuable information, it enhances the firm’s authority and credibility in the eyes of potential clients – and Google.
  3. Word Count. Multi-page websites allow for a greater word count for each page. Ahrefs, Yoast, and others have all done their studies, and the verdict is clear though complex: The higher the word count, the better the results. (Of course, the quality of the content matters.)
  4. Clear Navigation. Users can easily navigate to the information they need by clicking on different pages, resulting in a more structured and organized user experience, which is also an important element of Google’s ranking algorithm.
Top 3 Multi-Page Website Drawbacks
  1. Potential for Higher Bounce Rates. If the navigation is not intuitive or if the pages load slowly, visitors might leave the site, leading to higher bounce rates.
  2. Content Length. With more pages and more in-depth content, more time and money are needed to draft and maintain the website.
  3. Design Complexity. Maintaining a cohesive design across multiple pages can be challenging, and inconsistencies may arise if not managed carefully.

These pros and cons provide a framework for determining which type of website is best for your law firm. They must, however, be put into context with your law firm goals and your line of work. 

Two Important Factors Law Firms Must consider Regarding Their Websites

It would be remiss to choose a multi-page or single-page website based solely on the pros and cons because these are not the only factors that matter. Two other important considerations must be addressed:

  1. Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) websites; and 
  2. Your law firm goals. 

What these factors mean and how they interact with single- and multi-page websites are discussed below.

What Does It Mean for a Law Firm Website to be a YMYL Website?

Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG) introduced the term “Your Money or Your Life” to identify websites that provide information or services that can significantly impact users’ financial stability, health, safety, or overall well-being. Legal services directly influence important aspects of people’s lives.

  • Financial Impact – Law firms often deal with issues related to finances, like bankruptcy, estate planning, or business law, where the outcomes can directly impact financial situations.
  • Health and Safety – Legal issues related to personal injury, medical malpractice, or criminal defense involve matters that directly impact health and safety, but other legal matters can indirectly impact health and safety, too.
  • Legal Rights – Law firms provide information and services related to legal rights and responsibilities, covering areas like family law, employment law, and civil rights, all of which can directly and indirectly impact overall well-being.

Thus, information provided on law firm websites can impact users’ decisions, rights, and outcomes. As such, law firm websites fall under the YMYL category.

Does YMYL Matter?

YMYL matters because it directly correlates with whether a webpage gets ranked on search engines. According to Google’s guidelines, the main content of the webpage is the key factor. This content must meet certain standards or else the quality of the page – which the guidelines refer to as Page Quality (PQ) – will be rated low, and a lower rating means the page will not appear in search engine results (SERPs).

Thus, if you want to grow your law firm via your law firm website, YMYL matters greatly. Below are critical YMYL standards as they pertain to law firm websites.

General YMYL Standards

#1 Accurate and Authoritative Content. Provide accurate, well-researched, and authoritative content on legal topics. Ensure that the information presented is up-to-date and reflects current legal standards and practices.

  • Multi-page websites grant room to present in-depth information to build a law firm’s authority on the practice areas and services they provide. Plus, it allows them to continuously provide information like tips and legal news through a blog made available via the same website.
  • Single-page websites can be accurate, and indeed they may facilitate accuracy because space is limited, but they do not allow room for law firms to provide well-researched content on legal topics unless the website is only for a very narrow topic or purpose.

#2 Author Expertise. Showcase the expertise of the attorneys and legal professionals associated with the firm. Highlight their qualifications, experience, and any certifications or recognitions.

  • Multi-page websites allow attorneys to showcase themselves and their qualifications, certifications, and more on web pages specific to their professional biographies as well as on each relevant web page. Plus, by allotting individual pages to showcase expertise, attorneys can elaborate on their qualifications to further highlight their expertise and connect with users on a more personal (as well as professional) level.
  • Single-page websites allow names, titles, and qualifications for each attorney to be listed or summarized. 

#3 Transparency. Be transparent about the firm’s identity, including its location, contact information, and the individuals behind the legal services, which helps build trust with users.

  • Both single- and multi-page websites allow for this type of transparency.

#4 Security and Privacy. Implement robust security measures to protect users’ sensitive information, especially if the website collects personal data or facilitates online transactions. Communicate the firm’s privacy policy.

  • Both single- and multi-page websites allow for this type of security and privacy – much of which may depend on the web hosting service.

#5 User-Friendly Design. Ensure the website is user-friendly, with easy navigation and a clear structure. Users should be able to find relevant information quickly and efficiently.

  • Both single- and multi-page websites can be user-friendly – much of it depends on the design and efforts put into the design.

#6 Client Testimonials and Case Studies. Include client testimonials and case studies to demonstrate the firm’s track record and success stories. This can contribute to building credibility and trust.

  • Multi-page websites allow law firms to create individual pages for client testimonials and case studies, respectively. Aside from attorney profile pages, these pages lead to high conversions because they allow potential clients to determine whether you can handle a case like theirs and whether or not you may be successful at it.
  • Single-page websites have relatively limited space (unless it’s an infinite scroll like TikTok), and with that limited space, law firms have to make hard choices, like whether to have a client testimonial or case summary, and if so, which?

#7 Legal Disclaimers. Provide clear legal disclaimers on the website, especially if the content is informational and not intended as legal advice. Encourage users to seek professional advice for their specific situations.

  • Both single- and multi-page websites can and should provide legal disclaimers.

#8 Accessibility. Ensure that the website is accessible to individuals with disabilities. This includes providing alternative text for images, ensuring proper heading structures, and following web accessibility standards.

  • Both single- and multi-page websites can and should be ADA-compliant.

#9 Regular Content Updates. Keep the website’s content updated to reflect changes in laws, regulations, and the firm’s services. Stale or outdated information can erode trust.

#10 Mobile Optimization. Optimize the website for mobile devices, as many users access legal information and services through smartphones and tablets.

  • Multi-page websites can be optimized for mobile devices. What’s more, because there are multiple pages, these pages can strategically use a mix of short and long-tail keywords for voice search optimization.
  • Single-page websites often claim mobile optimization as one of their main benefits, but though a scroller may perform well on a smartphone or tablet, it is limited when it comes to voice search optimization. Being mobile-ready is different from mobile optimization – the choice is one between aesthetics and performance.

By adhering to these guidelines, law firms can enhance the trustworthiness and credibility of their websites, providing users with the information and services they need while meeting the standards set for YMYL websites. 

Potential YMYL Capability Summary for Single- and Multi-page Law Firm Websites
YMYL Standard

Scrollers

Multi-Page

Authoritative Content

Author Expertise

Transparency

Security and Privacy
User-Friendly Design
Client Testimonials / Case Studies
Legal Disclaimers

Accessibility

Regular Content Updates
Mobile Optimization

What are Your Goals for Your Law Firm Website?

Some attorneys and law firms use their websites to develop their brand and thought leadership, but these are mostly goals collateral to the primary one: Lead conversion. Lawyers want their websites to bring in more clients, preferably quality clients. To obtain that goal, different strategies are put into place to help the law firm’s website rank in search engine results. 

These strategies are manifold, interrelated, and complementary. They are meant to secure a larger online presence, generate leads, and convert those leads to quality clients. This is done by incorporating a strategy that targets quality prospects, helps prospects find your website, and provides a website that successfully engages them so that they reach out to you.

Targeted Marketing. The first step of any marketing plan is to understand your targeted audience. Targeted marketing is the foundation of a successful online marketing strategy, but it also helps with another important thing: Quality clients. Through targeted marketing, law firms can actively attract the clients they want to build their brand and law practice. 

  • Multi-page websites provide optimal opportunities for law firms to target an audience – from profile attorney pages to law practice pages to FAQ pages, blogs, and more. What’s more: Multi-page websites allow you to create separate pages that target distinct audiences, allowing for simultaneous tailored messaging to multiple, quality potential clients.
  • Single-page websites can allow for targeted marketing, but it is limited given the space restrictions to appeal to the target audience, and that space is further limited if you need to target multiple, distinct audiences.

SEO Considerations. SEO helps you find your targeted audience by ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO involves on-page optimization as much as it does off-page optimization. On-page SEO includes anything from quality content, content length, titles, H1 headers, images, and more. Off-page SEO is more about all the technical aspects of SEO, like accessibility, page speed, and site security. 

  • Multi-page websites are generally favored by search engines due to the ability to optimize each page for specific keywords and provide detailed information.
  • Single-page websites, again, lack the space to develop a strong on-page SEO strategy, but technically, they may fare just as well as multi-page websites depending on the website hosting service.

Quality Content. Law firms must convey detailed and comprehensive information about their services, expertise, and legal processes to develop trust and credibility, which are both important factors in Google’s algorithm for ranking. 

  • Multi-page websites allow for a more thorough exploration of legal topics and services as well as more opportunities to develop the content with SEO headers and subtitles. It also allows for more opportunities to provide calls-to-action (CTAs), which guide users toward desired actions such as contacting the firm, scheduling a consultation, or downloading informational resources. This targeted approach can improve conversion rates and is an important feature that should be offered in multiple places via multiple formats.
  • Single-page websites fall into the same problem as they do in other areas, and that’s the problem of limited space.

User Experience. User experience is critical to ranking on SERPs. In fact, for Google at least, it is the most critical factor because it is what deems an experience positive or negative. User experience involves websites that are mobile-friendly, easy to use, and easy to navigate. Think of a website as a brick-and-mortar store: The more pleasing to the eye the store is and the easier it is to find what you want, the more likely a consumer will purchase a product or service.

  • Multi-page websites offer clear navigation by providing users with structured and organized access to information, reducing the chances of frustration and encouraging exploration.
  • Single-page websites offer a smooth experience, but with limited content, there’s less for a user to explore, so they might click on another law firm’s website to find what they seek. 

Analytics and Tracking. The general idea is that law firms want to grow and to do so strategically, you need data. Data allows you to analyze, track, and make smarter decisions.

  • Multi-page websites offer more comprehensive analytics and tracking capabilities. Law firms can analyze the performance of individual pages, understand user behavior, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their online presence.
  • Single-page websites, again because of the limited space, less data is available to track, analyze, and use in developing long-term goals and strategies.

As law firms expand their services or evolve, a law firm website should also provide the flexibility to accommodate new content, practice areas, and updates without cluttering. Though not necessarily a strategy, this ability to expand should also be taken into consideration. 

Comparative Summary of Law Firm Website Search Engine Ranking Strategies
SERP Strategy

Scrollers

Multi-Page

Targeted Marketing
SEO Considerations
Quality Content
User Experience
Analytics and Tracking

Putting It All Together: Which Website Will Help Your Law Firm Accomplish Its Goals in 2024?

The goal of a law firm website for solo attorneys and small law firms is almost always singular: Get more clients. Why else would you allot a large portion of your limited resources to develop and maintain a law firm website? However, it’s the latter where the conundrum comes into play: 

  1. Should you expend limited time and money for a website that offers more opportunities to comply with YMYL standards and develop strategies to target and acquire new clients; or 
  2. Should you save time and money by retaining the services of an agency that, as a “bonus,” offers a free or cheap scroller website, knowing that this single-page website offers limited opportunities to help you find and secure new clients?

With the former, you might have to spend money but you will – if you employ smart strategies – benefit from a good, if not excellent, return on your investment. With the latter option, you should set low expectations unless you get very creative with your online marketing strategy and get enough clients from referrals or other means. 

But chances are, if you are using the services of an online legal marketing, management, or software agency, then an online presence and a high-performing website are goals you want to achieve.

Ultimately, determining whether a single- or multi-page website is best for you depends on your purpose for the website and weighing that against the resources you have at your disposal. 

It also depends on whether you become a LawLytics member because we offer affordable, effective multi-page law firm websites with features to help you surpass YMYL standards and enhance the performance of your website.

How LawLytics Helps Law Firms Obtain Affordable, Effective YMYL-Compliant Multi-Page Websites

Fortunately for solo attorneys and small law firms, LawLytics provides a solution – one where you can have your cake and eat it, too. We like to call it the LawLytics Advantage.

As a LawLytics member, you receive a beautiful, high-performing law firm website already optimized for technical SEO (like mobile readiness, site security, and accessibility). We also offer native integrations and partnerships with other legal services and software. Our platform is incredibly user-friendly and easy to use. 

Plus, at your fingertips, you can access important data about your website, including website traffic, bounce rates, and more, so that you can regularly evaluate your strategy and make necessary, timely modifications. Also at your fingertips is access to our Content Library, where we offer hundreds of pages of practice area topics that are SEO-optimized and fully customizable. So, you don’t need to spend your own time slaying away at the computer to draft content pages, and you don’t need to outsource it to an expensive content writer service.

With these and other benefits, we dramatically reduce the amount of time and money you need to spend on your website while also providing you the capabilities to help you meet your law firm goals and grow your law practice.

So, like we said, you can have your cake and eat it, too. 

If you’re ready for a taste, check out our LawLytics Website Builder to explore various website layout and customization possibilities. Then, reach out to us to schedule a 20-minute interactive demo. If you’re currently a member and would like to learn more about optimizing your LawLytics website, contact support to discuss all your options.

LawLytics Newsletter

Get insights, webinar invites and exclusive legal marketing news in your inbox.