First Steps in Designing Your Law Firm’s New Website

While the Internet remains the most popular tool to seek out products and services of all kinds, it has become increasingly saturated with content, overwhelming users with the sheer amount of choices available. Instead of browsing through hundreds of thousands of results, users are more likely to simply click through the first couple of links that show up on their search engine of choice. That’s why it’s so critical to incorporate SEO strategies when creating a website for your law firm, ensuring your site will be ranked at the top of the list.

Once users are able to more easily find your website, it’s important to retain their attention. Most people form their first impression of a site within seconds. If that impression is a negative one, they’ll simply close out your page and move on to the next link. It’s not enough to simply include the most relevant keywords; your content must be informative, engaging, and above all else, accessible to your target audience.

The Purpose of a Law Firm Website

Before moving along to the actual creation of your firm’s site, it’s important to have a thorough understanding of its purpose. Ultimately, a successful website should provide you with a high conversion rate, persuading visitors to become clients. However, there are multiple steps involved in doing so.

Visitors navigating your website may be encountering your law firm for the very first time. As such, your page should serve as an introduction to your firm, including information detailing who you are, where you practice, and what service areas you specialize in handling. You should also incorporate proactive answers to visitor questions when possible. You can accomplish this by first determining the specific needs and most common concerns of your target audience. Explain how your firm is able to address those needs and concerns on your site.

In any densely populated area, it’s likely that multiple law firms will offer similar services. Your law firm website can be an invaluable tool to illustrate what sets your services apart. When writing the content for your site, take advantage of the opportunity to showcase what makes your particular firm unique. Incorporating the added value your firm provides will be essential to your success.

Maximizing the Appeal of Your Website

People often form opinions based solely on a brief first impression, and navigating through websites is no different. While these opinions may be entirely subconscious, they can still have a dramatic impact on the effectiveness of your online presence. If your site appears unprofessional in any capacity, users are likely to conclude that your law firm is unprofessional or inexperienced. Alternatively, more appealing websites will inspire feelings of confidence and trust in users, making them more likely to become clients in the future.

The key to making a strong first impression is to focus on accessibility. The easier your information is to locate and digest, the higher your conversion rate. This does not mean writing at an elementary school level or simply increasing the size of your font. Instead, consider the most common pitfalls you encounter on a regular basis when scrolling through the Internet. Any obstacles that prevent you from finding the information you need, such as unintuitive or broken links, extremely long and dense blocks of text, unreadable font or color choices, lack of a search bar, or long loading times, can all frustrate you to the point of exiting out of the site without a second glance.

Keep in mind that many users access the Internet via mobile devices, so make sure your site is optimized for mobile and avoid these pitfalls on the mobile version of your site as well.

Getting Started Creating Your Website

When you’re ready to take the next step in creating your law firm’s website, there are a number of ways to proceed depending on the resources you have at your disposal. For those with small firms or newly funded legal practices limited to a small budget, plenty of free website building tools are available. However, there are a few drawbacks to using free services to create your website.

For starters, most website building platforms that are advertised as free on the Internet are a little misleading. Further research reveals that only the most basic features are available for free. To access the features you would need to sustain a professional website, such as reliable customer support and access to informative website analytics, you would have to upgrade to a premium package for a hefty subscription fee.

Limitations often include a maximum number of pages you’re able to publish and limited storage, making it difficult to create a comprehensive selection of practice area pages. Additionally, you will most likely be unable to have a customized domain name, making your page appear less professional and more difficult for users to find. Finally, free websites are usually able to remain free due to the presence of intrusive advertisements that make your site more difficult to navigate.

When you partner with a website development service, the end result is a truly customized, professional experience that will attract potential clients and provide you with a higher conversion rate. Web design experts have spent years developing strategies to make your page appear as accessible as possible to visitors, ensuring it is visually compelling, mobile friendly, and easy to navigate. All this can be seamlessly applied to your content and branding.

In addition to the creation of the website, you are also eligible for further customer support over time. Websites require ongoing maintenance to ensure your users have a smooth experience. Web design professionals can provide the necessary services to keep everything running behind the scenes and verify that your site remains compatible with various browsers and platforms.

At RizeUp Media, we are dedicated to creating websites that provide users with a powerful first impression while successfully communicating all the necessary information about your law firm. To get started, simply fill out our online form or contact us by calling 866-806-8538.