Your future customers will make decisions based on what they see online.
Those who click on your site want specific information on your firm’s areas of specialisation.
Feedback
They’d like to see your social media presence, if any. And they are very interested in testimonials and feedback from former clients though it’s probably advisable to moderate the more negative comments!
However, legal firm clients obviously value confidentiality and can see social media presence as potentially detrimental.This can have a negative impact on trust. So proceed with caution. Keep your business reputation at the front and centre of any decisions on social media presence.
Often there is conflict between what a lawyer-centred design looks like and what the potential client actually needs to find on a legal firm’s website.
What the client probably doesn’t want or need is tedious detail about the principal’s legal education, the judicial research he or she carried out, or the articles they published in law review journals.
Though they do like to know that the person is highly qualified in the area in which they are seeking advice. Here, references to degrees and diplomas in specific fields – and references to past successful cases can be beneficial.
Avoid jargon
At all costs, avoid legal jargon because most people don’t understand it.
Speak the language of potential clients.
A successful legal website contains a mix of the following factors:
- Design
- Ease of use
- Copywriting and content that is freshly updated and well-written
- Interactivity
- Up-to-date technology
- Innovation
However the fundamental goal of a well-designed website is to deliver new business and to enhance the reputation of an existing firm.
A well-designed offering will be a marketing powerhouse and will clearly display the range of legal services the business has to offer.
A good site will be easy to navigate and contain a clear call to action such as : get in touch.
Relevant information must be quick and easy to find.
Be ‘mobile friendly’
Ireland is a tech-savvy country and smartphone penetration stood at 86 per cent by the end of 2016.
Since the mobile web has now overtaken desktop browsing, a mobile responsive design (one that works as efficiently on mobile phones and tablets as on desktop computers) is crucial.
To elaborate, ‘mobile responsive’ design means that the display screen adjusts and scales to suit the device on which it is being viewed.
The site should always be designed with potential clients in mind, and should not be about the preferences of the web designer or the business owner.
Put the user’s journey through the site at the centre of the planning process. The personal taste of the business owner really doesn’t matter.
Focus on the core reasons for your site and make that work well, rather than getting distracted by ‘bells and whistles’.
Usability is the key, and the site must be simple and straightforward to navigate, with a clear business message. Consistency is everything. Don’t confuse matters.
Content is king
Maintaining white space and telling your business story clearly will encourage users to keep on scrolling downwards and to stay on your site – lowering the ‘bounce’ (or leaver) rate.
There is no need to squash key content ‘above the fold’ (that is, the area every visitor sees first on the home page of your site). Good, readable design will maintain the quality that keeps visitors on the site long after they have seen or read the home page.
'Often there is conflict between what a lawyer-centred design looks like and what the potential client actually needs
Be aware of the value of good search engine optimisation (SEO). That means optimising heading tags title tags, URL structure and internal links to make your site more visible to Google search engines. If you use an IT company, they should be able to help you achieve this. The goal is to try to appear as close to the top of a Google search as possible.
What Google likes best is fresh content. Have a news section on your site and keep it updated. Nothing looks as dated as a site with four-year-old news. Out-of-date content will make visitors question whether you are even still in business.
Google also ranks sites according to keyword content. Each firm’s keywords will depend on their areas of legal specialisation: Is it conveyancing? Probate? Family? Personal injury claims? Criminal?
What’s your specialism?
Your site design should have the capacity to house content that illustrates your specialist knowledge. And the keywords embedded in this content will bring more users to your site when they search for these key terms.
Decide which social media platforms are the most appropriate for developing your business, and place those badges prominently on your home page. And with social media the key rule is: don’t set it and forget it. If you set up an account, maintain it.
And never, ever delegate your social media to an office junior. Big mistake! Social media is your online shopfront and you need to keep those windows shining and in great shape.
Contact details must be clear and obvious. Don’t assume your site visitors don’t want to make a phone call to your office just because they have searched for you online.
While it is acceptable to capture email data from site visitors, firms must be very careful how that data is used. Never, ever spam. It breaks trust.