Attorney Website Design

It’s not at all uncommon to see law firms include a list of upcoming events on their websites. After all, it’s a great way to showcase your expertise, demonstrate an active presence in the community and inform clients and colleagues about these events so they can attend or spread the word. Unfortunately, far too many attorneys let this powerful resource fall to the wayside—allowing it to become outdated, stagnant or fail to implement tools which will make the listing of events a true resource for site visitors. If your law firm is considering future events and making these a part of your website, be sure to utilize an integrated event management system which features the following tools:

Although you may be able to find a good photo in a Google search, chances are you can’t use the image on your law firm’s website without purchasing the license or, at the least, without having written permission from the photographer. Far too often, we hear from attorneys who have received a large bill from an image provider because they did not have the proper license to use the photo. While purchasing the original image may have only cost the firm seventy five dollars, the bill for damages and licenses can wind up costing the practice thousands of dollars. To avoid this common mistake, follow the tips below:

With the New Year upon us, there is a renewed sense of excitement around the office. We’re working on really great projects, helping dozens of new firms develop sites that will propel their practices in the coming months.  Only four weeks into 2013 and we’ve already launched a few great new sites.  Check out these gems below:

Backer Law Firm, P.A. - Boca Raton Community Association Lawyers

C. Mark Murrah, Attorney at Law - Houston Industrial Business & General Counsel Attorney

Devero Taus LLC - NY/NJ Employment Law, Bankruptcy and Family Law Attorneys

Law Office of Justin A. Zeller - New York Unpaid Wages and Overtime Employment Lawyer

Rosenberg Calica & Birney LLP - Garden City, NY Transactional & Litigation Law Firm
 

For years, Adobe Flash has been the leading technology used by web developers to incorporate movement into the graphics of a website. Despite its popularity, Flash animation has been widely criticized. Many argue that it should be avoided for two main reasons: 1) when not properly implemented, Flash animation can be detrimental to SEO and 2) Apple does not allow Flash to run on iOS, the operating system which runs on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Apple TV.

Adding photos to the content area of your website can be a great way to enhance your site’s appearance while giving it a more customized feel. Many content management systems, like our own Site Manager, allow site administrators to add photos directly to the site. With the ability to add photos, come many questions. What’s the best size for photos on the site? Should they be cropped? Should I apply any effects to the photo (sepia looks pretty cool, right)? In this post, we’ll explore some photo basics and best practices for adding photos to your law firm’s site.

Over the past week, people all along the East Coast felt the negative effects of Hurricane Sandy. With high winds and surging sea levels, this “Frankenstorm” caused severe damage to millions of homes and businesses.

Every day we’re contacted by prospective clients.  Many ask the same questions like how well do your clients rank with Google? How long is the development process?  How extensive is your content management system? One consideration which is far too often overlooked when selecting a website provider is loading time. How quickly does the server respond when a visitor arrives at a new site?

A slow loading time can be harmful in a number of ways.

We meet a lot of attorneys at conferences and networking events. Of course, the topic of their firms’ websites always comes up. The most common reaction we hear from lawyers is “I have a website but it could be better.” After digging a little deeper, we often find out why it could be better. Often the graphics just aren’t great, the content was never completed, the site is outdated or it looks nice but it just isn’t bringing in business. In an effort to help attorneys better understand the potential of their marketing efforts, we’re pleased to offer free, no-obligation website assessments.

During your many trips around the web, you’ve likely encountered “live chat” on a site. Usually it comes in the form of a small pop up window with a message along the lines of “Hi. I’m Sarah. Can I help answer any questions for you today?”

The main goal of this feature is to encourage interaction with visitors before they jump off of the site. This tool allows the web user to make contact in the most non-committal manner; after all, they don’t have to pick up the phone or submit a contact form. Heck, they don’t even have to give you a name and they get an instant response.

Even though we're all about technology here at Amicus Creative, we have to admit that tech terms can be confusing. There are lots of them and when developing a website, many lawyers face the difficult task of familiarizing themselves with all of the basics of domains, websites, DNS hosting and email. To save attorneys time, we thought we'd create a little cheat sheet of key terms and how they are all connected when it comes to your law firm's website.

Lawyers tend to love justification of text. Simply explained, full justification is a type of formatting which adds spacing between words (and even within words) so that the text fills the entire line, creating a clean left and right edge to any block of text.  Since full text justification is common in pleadings and briefs, it should come as no surprise then that many of the law firms that we work with ask us to justify the text on their website. While it may be common in some legal briefs and memorandums, text justification should be avoided at all costs on your law firm’s website.