In today’s digital world, there is no marketing asset an attorney has that is more important than their website. Potential clients are using the internet more and more to research their legal troubles, and the quality of your website is a major part of the impression that you make on them.

Did you know that studies have shown a visitor forms an impression about a website within the first three seconds of landing on the page? This digital first impression is crucial in capturing a potential client’s attention, and a strong website will provide the extra information to help convert those visitors into customers.

Modern Attorney Website Design

To make a great first impression, you want your website to look fresh and modern. An old-fashioned site will make clients think that your practice might also be stale and behind the times. Embrace a clean site design that features large, impactful images and opportunities to cross-promote content throughout your site. Your site should reflect the strengths of your practice, but also be visually appealing to visitors. There is no reason that an attorney website needs to look stuck in the past. This is an excellent opportunity to use any custom photography that you have taken for print marketing materials or advertisements; giving visitors a personal look at your firm and the work you do.

Mobile Friendly Attorney Websites Are Critical

It is also no longer optional for your website to be easily accessible from a mobile device. In 2016, mobile-based web visits officially surpassed web visits from a desktop, and that trend will only continue. If a visitor finds that your attorney website design is difficult to navigate or doesn’t load properly on mobile, they will quickly move on to another attorney. A mobile version of your site can be an acceptable compromise, but standard practice is to build a “responsive” site, which is built to rearrange itself appropriately based on the size of the screen it is being viewed on, whether it’s a desktop, tablet, or phone.

Search Engine Optimization for Legal Websites

The most well-designed website isn’t worth much if the visitors who need it aren’t able to find it. When you are starting a new website, it is just as important to work with someone who understands search engine optimization (or SEO) as with a talented web designer. Search engine optimization encompasses a wide variety of tactics that help your site rank well on search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Many people are aware of the importance of using relevant keywords on pages, but real, high-level search engine optimization involves so much more. Search engine optimization needs to be taken into account when your site is being built to make sure that it is constructed in a way that is easy for search engine crawlers to “read.” Sites also need properly formatted links, detailed metadata, unique content, and more. This invisible, technical work is critical to giving your website an advantage over your competitor’s sites. Although search engine optimization is an ongoing task, if your site was not properly set up to begin with, you will never be able to achieve ideal page ranks.

Marketing Strategy for Attorneys

Both site design and search engine optimization need to be led by a strong digital strategy. In order to stand apart from the competition and showcase your expertise, your site needs to reflect the strengths of your firm. Before starting a new website, make sure you go through an analysis of your firm and your current site with your design firm to create a digital strategy to guide the creation of the new site. This approach will help you identify the most important elements of the website as well as set goals that will let you know if you’re getting the results you need from your site once it’s live. Just as you’d never go into court without a plan, your website needs a plan to guarantee success.

Attorney Website Designer

Your website is incredibly important to your firm. It could very easily be the most widely viewed marketing material that you will ever produce. When you’re ready to redesign, choose a web design firm for attorneys with proven experience in legal marketing and attorney websites. Choose someone with expertise in digital strategy, search engine optimization, and designing stylish, modern websites. All of these elements (and more) will work together to help your website work harder for you and convert visitors into clients.