Whether you’re a newly created firm or an established one, your website needs to be appealing and easy to use for potential legal clients. There’s no room for error or complacency when a competing firm’s website is just a click away from yours.
But how do you assess if your site is performing at its best? Luckily you don’t need to be a web developer to end up with an impressive and effi-cient law firm website. The considerations in Clio’s free website scorecard from top marketers will help you determine if your site is working hard for you, or if it needs a helping hand.
You’ll learn how your website is performing, find opportunities to improve it, and better understand how clients evaluate your law firm.
The qualities of a good law firm website fall into three categories:
1. Client experience
2. Branding
3. Technical factors
Here’s a sneak peek into the first of those three categories: client experi-ence.
• Is your site’s content clear and easy to understand?
A strong law firm website should get to the point and not bury its visi-tors in legal jargon. Depending on your law firm’s potential clientele, legalese can be intimidating and off-putting. Good copywriting and plain language are the keys to success here—consider investing in hiring a copywriter to help you do this. Or ask someone who isn’t fa-miliar with wills and probate law to read over your website and give feedback.
• Is your site easy to navigate?
Is your website straightforward to get around, or do potential clients get lost? Clear and simple navigation makes it easy to see the value you provide and helps funnel potential clients into taking action.
Ask yourself: Is your website consistent in styling and navigation across all pages? Do all the links work? Are your CTAs (calls to ac-tion) straightforward? Is all the information up to date? You’d be sur-prised how many law firms have out of date information and service details on their website.
• Is it easy to find your firm’s contact information?
Clients shouldn’t have to struggle to call you or send you an email—especially as we’re in a new-world of distanced-living. Ideally, clients should have multiple ways to contact your firm. That way, they can get in touch in a way that suits them. If you don’t have a stand-alone contact page, add one and ensure that its navigation is in your head-er. Your firm’s contact details should also be clearly displayed on your homepage and in the header and footer of every other page on your site.
To get the bonus tips for how to portray a strong brand that resonates and how to lift the bonnet and test the technology and tools, download the website scorecard.
This article was submitted to be published by Clio as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Family Lawyer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Family Lawyer.
