Chloe Wingate
For most law firms, their website is designed to achieve one thing: bring in a steady stream of leads to the business.
However, technology moves at such a fast pace that even a website built just a few years ago might already need updating to ensure it’s fit for purpose.
Regardless of when it was first built, it is always worth reviewing your firm’s site to ensure it is still working in your favour by bring in new business. And we’re not just talking about how it looks; technical aspects such as a slow loading speed or confusing navigation can negatively affect the number of visits to your website.
Where to start?
If you’re looking to build a new website for your law firm, it can feel overwhelming even knowing where to begin. But that’s why you work with experts who can help you make sense of all the technicalities. As a starting point, try browsing the web and looking at the sites of other law firms, so you can identify what you like and build a picture of your ideal website. It is important that your finished website is user-friendly, so make sure to consider both the desktop and mobile design from the outset.
What to include?
In order to convert leads into new clients, your website must be clear. You should therefore spend some time designing a site map – a list of all the pages on your site. Make sure to clearly list your firm’s practice areas, so prospects can quickly ascertain whether you are able to help them.
We would also recommend ensuring that every page contains some kind of call to action (CTA) – for example, telling potential clients to get in touch – so that visitors understand what they have to do with the information they have been given. On many sites, a call to action might link to a simple contact form, allowing users to quickly leave their details.
Finally, spend some time on the content for your ‘About Us’ page, as this is a chance to give your company a human touch. According to research, this is becoming increasingly vital, with 52% of website visitors saying the ‘About Us’ page is the first thing they want to see. Some firms include pictures of the team with a small profile or some facts about them and their area of expertise. Whatever you decide, it is an opportunity for existing and potential clients to get to know the professionals they could be working with.
Refreshing what you already have
Even if you have a site that you are mostly happy with, you should be putting in some work to keep it up to date and suitable for modern visitors. For example, you can check your site speed is acceptable for users with online tools such as Google PageSpeed. This is a really important part of keeping visitors on your site, as nearly half (47%) of users won’t wait longer than two seconds for a website to load.
You may also want to implement some Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies to drive search engine users to your website. For example, make sure to include key words in the meta titles and meta descriptions of your website pages, as this is the information that potential visitors use on a search engine results page to judge whether your site will be relevant to their query. If you want new clients to find your law firm easily, key words could include the services you provide and your location (for example, Family Law services in Bristol).
Ongoing maintenance
Once your site has been built or refreshed, you can keep an eye on what is and isn’t working by using Google Analytics to track all website traffic. The longer you use the service, the more you will be able to spot trends, such as spikes in new user activity, and adapt your marketing strategy accordingly.
Our website services
TOMD has been building bespoke websites for years – if you would like to talk to us about how we can help, contact us on info@tomd.co.uk.