In my last post, I talked about the benefits of having new and updated content for your law firm’s website. For Part 2, I’m going to focus on how changing up your website’s overall design and aesthetic will help draw in visitors and potential clients. Web design is tricky – it’s not some “Weekend Warrior” project that you can get done in a few hours. All of the below suggestions require substantial skills and time. If you have any qualms about your web design abilities, you should definitely consider contacting a web designer (like us!). You’ll find that haphazardly putting together a web design will cost you more in the long run than investing in a solid web designer now.

New Web Design – Responsive, Current, and Snazzy

When redoing our old site (Exhibit A), we wanted to make sure that it accomplished both our functional and design needs. With a new responsive design and added personality, we were able to create an updated site that better reflects our design aesthetic and goals (Exhibit B).

• Responsive Design: Let’s face it – we live in a society that’s constantly on the go. Ten years ago, it would seem like a no-brainer to design a website solely for a desktop computer, but times have changed. People are now accessing information on mobile devices like tablets and cellphones. By using a responsive design, your law firm’s website will be able to adapt to different mobile platforms, allowing visitors to easily view and engage with your website.
• WordPress CMS (Content management system): WordPress websites are a good way to go because they are so user-friendly. That’s one of the reasons why LegalPPC, Inc. works with WordPress. If our clients want to take on the responsibility of maintaining their sites, the information is easy to transfer and understand. And, with the myriad of plug-in offerings, you can customize the WordPress website to fit your aesthetic and design needs.
• Adding Personality: This is where you can really differentiate yourself from other law firms. What color schemes do you like? Are there any cool tricks that you saw on other websites that you want to emulate on yours? Consulting with a web designer for this step is useful because he/she may offer insight on how you can present your information in a different way.

Note: Checking out design blogs is a good way to get inspiration and insight for your website design. Our favorites are Smashing Magazine and Web Design Ledger.

Simplify – “Trim the fat and get to the steak”

Stuffing a website with a ton of pop-ups, links, and other hoopla is so 2004. And yet, there are a number of potentially good websites that suffer from this obsolete style. If prospective clients visit your website and are greeted with 1000 things being thrown in their faces, they’ll bounce the heck out of there.

A healthy dose of editing can go a long way. If you’re not sure if you want to completely redesign your website, try going through the pages and eliminate distracting images, links, etc.

Once you have the “bare bones” of your website, you can then make mindful decisions about the design improvements. In keeping with our steak metaphor, you want to make sure that the product you deliver is high-quality stuff (I would go into organic and grass-fed references, but that’s too much work).

• Images: Updating the banner and background photo for your website is a good way to add personality and purpose for your law firm. For example, if your law firm is in a metropolis, emphasize this asset by putting in a photo of the cityscape. Or, you can highlight your practice areas by including relevant images for your practice areas pages (all with good taste, of course).
• Typography: Not every website needs to be in Times New Roman or Arial.  Playing around with the typography gives added interest to your site and can make the content more inviting and interesting to read. You don’t need to go crazy and add Wingdings to the whole site, but don’t be afraid of mixing different typography for the titles, headings, and content.

Note: If you want to see how your content will look with different fonts, there are useful websites like Google Fonts that provide a large font collection and gives you a preview of what your writing will look like.

Don’t forget the little things

All of the above design elements are crucial in making your website stand out, but in addition to investing time into the design aesthetics, conducting routine maintenance ensures that your website is fully functioning. Do all of the links on your pages direct visitors to the appropriate pages? Are there broken links that need to be fixed? Does your inquiry form on your website work properly? Ultimately, it’s these little things that can make or break your visitors’ interaction with your website.

See, that wasn’t so painful ☺

Whether you’re adding new content or redesigning your website, making meaningful changes will pay off in the long run. Taking the time to do your website the right way shows visitors that you are mindful of how potential clients receive information and that you care about your business.

For us at LegalPPC, Inc., our New Year’s goal was to revamp our website into LegalPPC 2.0 (silver edition). Looks pretty snazzy, huh? Updating an entire website may seem like a daunting task, but adding that extra “oomph” to your website doesn’t have to be difficult and, in the end, the results are rewarding with a more inviting, fresh website that draws in visitors (and potential clients!).

In this two-part post, I’ll share some ideas on how you can spruce up your website for the New Year.

First off, let’s talk content. Whether you decide to completely gut your website’s content or make minor tweaks here and there, adding fresh content is the first step in engaging potential clients with you and your practice. If writing is not one of your strengths, any of the below suggestions can be conducted by a content marketing team. However, if you do choose to hire someone to write your copy, make sure that he/she is able to capture your goals and personality so that the content doesn’t read as something generic (otherwise you’d still be in the same predicament!).

Overhauling and starting anew

Do you use your content to lull yourself to sleep at night? Or, here’s a better question, when was the last time you even read your website’s content? If you have boring or outdated content, it may be time for a change. In any case, adding completely new content to your website is a sure way to give your website personality and keep yourself and your image current.

When rewriting the pages, consider the overall tone. Write as though you are talking to a client and not a search engine. While there are necessary components that need to be conveyed to the client, you don’t have to sound like a machine in order to deliver the message. Think informal, but informative. One approach would be to anticipate the questions that clients may bring up during a consultation:

• How do you work and manage cases?
• What do you have to offer your clients?
• How do you want your expertise to come across?

For example, if you pride yourself on the fact that you return client inquiries within 24 hours, that should be emphasized in your content to show that you are responsive and are considerate about your clients’ time and concerns. Or, you could make your content more personable by sharing why you chose to become a lawyer and enter your specific practice area. Both of these things give potential clients a different perspective into your firm and provide a conversational tone to the website.

Updating and adding to what you have

Maybe you’re pretty satisfied with your current content or the thought of overhauling all of your hard work makes you break out in hives. Including updated information on your site is an easy way to build more content and it shows that you are still alive (both in your practice and physically). I remember looking at an attorney’s site that wasn’t updated since 2011 – I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to sell him our services or send a condolence card.

These updates don’t have to be complicated, but they should have some substance to them (no fluff!):

• Does your law firm have recent winning results?
• Have you spoken at a conference or event?
• Have there been major changes to your law firm?

Another option for updating the website is by starting a legal blog for your site (helps you get in-tune with your creative side). This is a great way to provide useful information for your site’s visitors and show that you know a thing or two about your practice area.

Minimal changes – big results

There are three things that make my head explode: people cutting their nails on public transportation, excessively overcooked, mushy pasta, and typos on websites. You want people to understand your website’s content and not get tripped up by speeling erors spelling errors. Go through your website with a fine-toothed comb to see if there are typos, awkward phrasing, or anything else that looks out of place. Sometimes it helps to get another pair of eyes to read through the content to pick up things that you may have missed. Clean website copy only adds to your business’s credibility and demonstrates that you took the time to produce professional material.

Let’s get started!

Updating your website’s content is one of the easiest ways to improve your website, and your company will already be on a strong start for the new year. You don’t have to be a wordsmith to produce good content; just be open and honest about what you want your website to convey and the rest will follow. Stay tuned for the follow-up blog regarding updating your website’s overall design (this is where we get all tech-like).

With the abundance of lawyer websites in your specific legal practice and geographic location, you have to rely on potential clients to sift through countless lawyer websites and hope that yours stands out. But, let’s face it: not only do these competitors work in the same practice area and location as you, they also have outstanding credentials, winning results, and appealing websites that showcase their knowledge and experience.

How, then, are you supposed to stand out?

As consumers, whether we like it or not, many of us make our decisions based upon our emotions and connections with the company, product, or services. Therefore, it’s not enough for you to emphasize that you care about the client; the client needs to care about you as well. By establishing this connection, you have a better opportunity to appeal to clients and have them reach out to your law firm.

With the help of effective content and visuals, your website can elevate itself in a substantial way by differentiating yourself in a significant and meaningful manner.

You as a person – not a lawyer

You know you are more than just a lawyer – you are a human being. But, do your prospective clients know that? We can’t deny that there is a stigma imposed upon lawyers; however, you can help change this mindset by offering an approachable perspective in your law firm’s website.

In Ann Juergen’s article “Practicing what we teach: the importance of emotion and community connection in law work and law teaching,” she emphasizes the value in lawyers building and resonating emotional intelligence in their field. While she models her argument based on the law professor-student relationship, her views are still applicable to the lawyer-client relationship. In order for the client to trust the lawyer, the lawyer needs to display a level of vulnerability to reinstate the fact that the lawyer is, after all, a human being and therefore capable of feeling.

In your homepage or attorney profile, consider the following questions within your content:

• Why did you decide to go into law?
• How did you choose to practice in this law area?
• How have you developed as a lawyer and person in your legal practice?

These may look like soul-searching questions – though a little soul-searching never hurt anyone – but offering a snippet into your motivation and journey as a lawyer humanizes your overall law practice and promotes that idea that prospective clients will contact and work with an attorney who is a caring individual.

You in the practice

Having winning cases in your website boosts your legal credibility, but it only offers one facet into your practice area experience. Expand your reach by offering a new lens into your personal involvement within your legal area.

For example, we hear a lot of stories about the winning cases, but we don’t get to hear much about the impact of these cases. Without compromising confidentiality, consider the cases that you worked on that had an influence on you and your work:

• Which case was the most rewarding for you and why?
• How have you gained insight from working on these cases?

Having these anecdotes in the practice area pages in the website add another layer to what would normally be textbook descriptions about your law firm’s practice.

You may also want to consider including your outreach causes related to your practice area. For example, if you focus on elder abuse, it would be worth noting that you volunteer to assist senior citizens in nursing homes. Establishing such connections reveal that you are invested in your practice area beyond legal bounds and that you can offer that same type of compassion when working with a client.

In sum – results do matter, but people matter more.

You in the community

Community outreach is a positive way to localize your law firm and get your name out to the public. In the about page or article section of your website, include information regarding how you have contributed to the community:

• How do you relate to your geographic location?
• What is meaningful to you about your law firm’s location?
• Has your law firm supported community organizations or events?

Highlighting your engagement within the community gives your law firm’s website the ability to branch out with varied and meaningful content. Annie Lainer Marquit’s article “Public Counsel: Community Development Lawyers Building Foundations for Healthy Communities” shares the numerous ways Los Angeles lawyers are coming together to strengthen communities by providing their legal services to address issues in the community. The result a community of people from all walks of life coming together to build a positive environment. This “pay if forward” attitude again sets the foundation that people and the community are the forefront of your business objective.

Breaking legal barriers

Ultimately, the goal for your law firm’s website is to have more potential clients contact you and use your services. Whether you focus on personal injury, criminal defense, or family law, there is the underlying truth that lawyers are there to help alleviate clients’ suffering through legal means. Your law firm’s website can embody this message by emphasizing the humanistic side that comes with practicing law.

Sources

Juergens, Ann. 2005. “Practicing What We Teach: The Importance of Emotion and Community Connection in Law Work and Law Teaching.” Clinical Law Review 11, no. 2: 413-424.

Marquit, Annie Lainer. 2012. “Public Counsel: Community Development Lawyers Building Foundations for Healthy Communities.” Journal Of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law 21, no. 1: 9-16.