Creating and managing a highly converting legal website is no easy task. Turning web visitors into paying clients goes through people calling you or submitting a contact form, and this can only happen if you’ve used your website correctly to establish authority.
According to Martindale-Hubbell, 76 percent of legal prospects do a thorough search online before they choose an attorney.
To help you get most of those 76% to become clients of your company, law firm marketing department of Comrade Web Agency have done our homework and compiled a cheat sheet for ensuring your attorney’s website is the best it could be.
The Homepage Of An Attorney Website
What you put above the fold (on top of the page, before the first scroll) is crucial for whether people stay on your page or leave it.
Memorable Logo — A strong logo expresses your brand identity. It lets prospects know they’re on the right website, plus it’s memorable enough to make it easier for them to find you later and even recommend you.
Contact Number — Make yourself available by immediately giving your prospects the chance to call you. Some clients who need quick legal advice to get them out of a predicament only look for a phone number on a website anyway.
Value-adding headline — On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. Make your headline short, clear, to the point and communicate your main unique selling proposition.
Intuitive Navigation Menu — The navigation menu should only include the most important pages on your website. Responsive design is a must since most of your clients browse the internet on mobile devices.
Concise Sales Copy — Nobody cares about features. What your potential clients do care about is that you can solve their problems, so always look for ways to add value to your web content and show people how you can help them.
Stunning Hero Image — The purpose of the hero image is to show web visitors that you’re reliable and trustworthy immediately — and the right image does that within 3 seconds. Once an emotional connection has been established, potential clients will keep reading.
Clean & Clear Layout — A simple, minimalistic layout lets you put the focus on your compelling content. A paragraph shouldn’t be longer than 3–4 lines, and it’s best you alternate text and images to break up the site into manageable chunks!
Strong Call To Action — A CTA button with a clear request translates into higher conversion rates. Choose something like “‘Get your FREE consultation now!” The “now” in the text suggests urgency and subconsciously makes web visitors feel like they must take immediate action.
Below the Fold on an Attorneys Website
Once a website visitor scrolls down to read your below-the-fold content, you have his attention. Now is your chance to provide valuable information engagingly so that you prove to them you can solve their problem.
List of key benefits
A “guaranteed service” is a feature. “We will not get paid until we win your case” is an advantage. Describing the benefits, you offer correctly is the ultimate way to illustrate the value and attract clients.
Team section
To establish a personal connection and build trust, always include a “Team” section in your below-the-fold content. Feature professional, “human” images of your attorneys and a brief description of their specialty and experience.
Making Yourself Available
Your contact information should be easily discoverable throughout the website. This removes an invisible barrier between you and your web visitors, plus it implies you are a legitimate business.
Simple Contact Form
A contact form makes it easier for prospects to contact you, plus it gives you the chance to receive all the information you’d like to have before you speak with a client. Keep it simple — the only things you need to take the communication further are name and e-mail address.
SEO
While the quality of your content certainly matters, optimizing your website for high Google rankings matters too. SEO is the best marketing tactic for affordable leads, but it only works if you’re on page one, with a recent study showing 22% of mobile users click on the first result they see.
To get on page one, you need at least 1000 words of below-the-fold content that describes your practice and includes the right keywords with the right density.
There are some other specifics too. In the development and the maintenance of your website, you should consider:
- How fast your website loads, both on a desktop and a mobile device.
- The domain name of your website. It’s not as important as it once was, but can still drastically improve your rankings.
- Including a sitemap of your website, which helps Google understand your site’s structure.
- Other web development tactics that make your website faster, more user-friendly and more credible according to Google algorithms.
Reputation section and social proof
Since you’re offering a service and not a product, the best way to demonstrate credibility is through using social proof.
Ratings on legal platforms
Potential clients trust platforms like Yelp, Avvo, FindLaw, and others. If you have high ratings on one or more of those, it is an absolute must that you feature this on your website. Use the logo of the platforms directly instead of just mentioning their names.
Video Testimonials
It isn’t easy to get video testimonials for your business — your clients must be happy with your services, they must agree to record a video, and they must agree for you to feature it on your website. Your prospects know all this, so when they see video testimonials, your authority grows immensely.
Video testimonials are a great way to “humanize” your services, too.
Case study
In a legal firm, there’s always a case study worth sharing: the problem of the client, the challenges you faced, the way you overcame them and the ultimate outcome are all interesting to a legal prospect and a great way to showcase your experience and approach.
“But what about my clients’ privacy?”
Best is to post your case study without mentioning names, address or any other privacy-sensitive information, but still describing the problem you solved and how you did it.
Media presence
Whether it’s reputable legal publications or popular media, if your company has been featured in the media, you have to make that instantly clear on your website.
A good media presence could include TV commercials, radio and in-print ads that let you reach an audience you may not get access to online. However, do send them to your website for more information, as this will put them in your online sales funnel where tracking is much easier.
Site Design of the Attorney Website
Every web design decision is important for conversions.
Choose colors that complement each other and consider the emotional meaning of each color: for example, blue is subconsciously associated with trust.
Regarding fonts, for a legal website, we always recommend professional, easy-to-read fonts, in the web content and the logo alike.
As far as media goes, there are a few things to consider when you upload images and videos on your website: they must be responsive; they shouldn’t be slowing your website down, and they should be used strategically to build a personal relationship with your prospects and enhance credibility.
Don’t use image sliders: a popular visual tool, but not the best choice for a legal website. The so-called “hero image” is much more effective for establishing trust.
Choose a simple, linear layout where the next step is always clear, and the attention of a web visitor is on the content.
A Mobile Friendly Attorney Website
Everything on your website should be mobile friendly. This includes responsive design, responsive functionalities (for example, your contact form should be just as easy to fill out on a 6-inch screen as it is on a desktop) and a way for your mobile users to enjoy the videos you’ve uploaded.
It also means breaking up the content, so it doesn’t look overwhelming on a small screen.
Behind the Scenes
Never forget the “behind the scene” functionalities that should work perfectly.
One of the main concerns with Internet nowadays is security, so invest in proper software and professional maintenance to ensure your clients’ data — and all content on your website — is protected. Having a back-up of your website is an essential part of this.
Using Google Analytics to monitor results is important for continuous optimization, but it also comes with some ADA law concerns that your web developer should help you understand.
In the end, our cheatsheet provides great guidelines, but it’s up to you to follow them. Just as in every other area of your business, take the initiative, work with experienced professionals and don’t settle for anything less than the results you want to achieve.
Disclaimer:
“Please note that photographs and illustrations used in this article belong to CF Style Inc. d/b/a Comrade Web Studios. When reposting these materials, please mention the original copywriter (CF Style Inc. d/b/a Comrade Web Studios) in your publications, on our website and in social media or any third party publication.”