Attorney Website Design

We often hear from attorneys who have hundreds of new visitors to their websites each month but only receive a handful of leads despite these strong traffic patterns. There may be many explanations for low conversion rates but a poorly executed call to action is almost always one of the culprits. Last week, we held a webinar for attorneys exploring the development and implementation of an effective call to action. 

If you are struggling to generate leads from your law firm’s website, we encourage you to watch the recorded session and learn more about this critical component of online marketing success. 

If you’ve called an airline or your phone carrier recently, you’ve likely encountered an automated greeting explaining that you may be able to receive faster assistance and answers to your most common questions by visiting them on the web. In the world of law, things work a bit differently. Your clients can’t buy tickets online or report an outage in the area, and for most attorneys, the end goal is to get clients off of your website and calling your office, not the other way around. But what happens in the hours when you, or your well-trained receptionist, aren’t able to field the calls? 

Your firm’s website looks great on your desktop but what about on your iPad?

Last week we explored the necessity of testing your website in the four major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari) to ensure cross-browser functionality. Equally important is taking time to ensure that your website is tablet-friendly.

In developing websites for hundreds of law firms, we’re often asked what kinds of disclaimers should be included on a legal website. The answer to this question largely depends on the jurisdiction(s) of the firm and the local Rules of Professional Conduct. We recommend that all firms carefully comb through this information and all ethics opinions when developing a website to ensure compliance.  Some states require a label on all site pages indicating that the site is a form of “Attorney Advertising.” Others are less restrictive mandating that disclaimers may only be needed on certain pages where the information presented may confuse visitors.  

While we can’t get into each jurisdiction’s guidelines in a single post, generally speaking, there are several places on a legal website where your firm should consider adding a disclaimer: 

In order to gauge whether or not your law firm’s website is truly effective, you must have insight into visitor behavior.  What are prospective clients doing when they come to your site? Does one page have a particularly high exit rate? Knowing this kind of valuable information can help you to identify problems within your site and make changes to improve your online marketing strategy.   Google Analytics is a free service which tracks activity on your site. We highly recommend that all law firms utilize this tool but as anyone who has ever used this service can attest, there is a lot of information to comprehend and for many, it can be overwhelming.

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.