Please what? Please read on because we have some tips to make small law firm websites more effective. ALERT: none of these tips require a new $50,000 website! In fact, the costs are almost nil. If you pay somebody to make changes to your website, it may cost you a few bucks. If you handle these tasks yourself, the cost is your time.
Essentials for Small Law Firm Websites
The first thing we recommend is that you make sure that our website contains the following must-haves:
- Clear Contact Info – Is it easy for visitors to get in touch with you?
- Attorney Bio – Written from client perspective and includes tangible experience.
- Practice Area or Industry capabilities – Visitors should be able to tell that you are indeed the expert needed for their matter.
- Professional photo – Don’t throw on a blurry cell phone picture. And, make sure it still looks like you. No catfishing!
- Easy to read and navigate – Don’t set it up like a news site where the visitor cannot find what they are looking for.
- Social media buttons – These help to build a larger social media audience.
Enhancements for Small Law Firm Websites
- The following items will make your website more appealing and effective.
- Blog – Short articles that compliment your knowledge and experience. It will also exponentially increase your online visibility.
- Chat feature – You can use technology to immediate interact with potential clients. This is especially effective for consumer types of practice. Examples include divorce law, plaintiff-side law, and consumer bankruptcy.
- Videos – They do not need to be 2-camera professional videos. However, you do need decent quality – your phone can likely handle this. Videos will create a more welcoming user experience. They will also boost SEO.
Other Considerations
Your website should serve more than as an online brochure. It can make you money or it can make you lose money. You may be thinking, how can it cause me to lose money? Well, the hiring of an attorney is a high-involvement decision. In other words, there must be a very important reason to need a lawyer. For high-involvement decisions, the buyer will research the best lawyer to handle their needs. This research will certainly include an internet search. If your website is not found, you have no chance. Further, part of the research is to also ask for referrals. After the prospective client gets a couple of referrals, he or she goes straight to the web. Where does your website stand against the other referrals? If it’s not good, you will not get this business. If visitors can find you and you line-up well, your website is now a revenue generator.
Two other points. One, make sure all that your website complies with all Rules of Professional Conduct in your jurisdiction. Two, make sure that content is kept up-to-date and that any links you have still work. Again, you do not need to re-do your current website or spend thousands of dollars on a new one. Spend a few minutes to make sure that you have the essentials and plan to add some enhancements. Give us a ring if you have any questions.