Websites are not just for businesses that sell products. The online landscape for legal services is becoming extremely competitive as more and more law firm websites are sprouting up.

A good law firm website can drive lots of potential clients to your legal business. But what makes a law firm website good? If you want to stand out in the online world, remember to take note of these law firm website design must-haves, and some SEO practices to attract clients to your beautiful finished website.

Characteristics of the Best Website Design for a Law Firm

Website visitors seeking professional legal services want a professional-looking website. Good website design is a basic yet excellent way to get the attention of your target audience and give them the impression that your firm is trustworthy. 

Here are design elements all great law firm websites have in common.

Has a Simple But Unique Visual Design

A lawyer’s website should show professional branding. Flashy website design elements don’t do well for law firms. The greatest strategy is to keep things basic but not dull. Proper use of colors and choosing the right font style and size keeps the design simple but still pleasing to the eye.

So, instead of focusing on flashy design elements for your law firm’s website, focus the design inspiration on your professional branding. The colors and elements you use should reflect your brand. Start with a logo. It is something your clients will easily recognize and remember your business by.

Showcases the Law Firm’s Services and Attorneys 

Experience and credibility are essential in the legal industry. Businesses that showcase their achievements are more likely to reach new clients because it gives an impression of a trustworthy law firm. A dedicated page for the cases your law firm has handled and their results is part of a well-built website. 

To capture the interest of website visitors, provide the most encouraging outcomes. The more achievements a legal business can put on the page, the more credible they will appear. Moreover, a separate page for lawyers in the firm is a must. Build their profiles so potential clients can see their expertise; this makes it easier to know if their legal services are suited for the client’s needs.

Provides Clear Answers to Customers 

When visitors go to a legal website, one thing is clear—they have a problem they need to solve. Make it simple for potential clients to locate the information they require. Each page on a well-built website has a distinct and designated purpose. For example, a client with personal inquiries should be able to find the contact page without any complications.

Some of the primary content to include in your website include the following:

• Home page
• About page
• Attorney profiles
• Service page
• Contact page

Other forms of content make a well-designed and well-rounded website. Include them to give more information to clients. Here are some extra details law firm websites often include.

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): A Google search related to your law firm’s practice area and location will help you compile your most asked questions. The search results will help you formulate questions you can answer for clients who stumble upon your website.
• Video Content: What better way to deliver information to website visitors who don’t enjoy reading than through videos? With videos, you can share your firm’s different services and the history of your business. You can even answer FAQs on video.
• Practice Areas: Great law websites should have a detailed page of their practice areas. A good practice is to allot a page for every type of case your law firm handles. For example, if your firm offers personal injury services, you can provide information about its related topics like reckless conduct, gross negligence, intentional misconduct, and more.

Directs the Client’s Next Step

The key to turning visitors into clients is to tell them their next move clearly. Calls to action (CTAs) will turn visitors into clients, and great law firm websites include CTA buttons on every page. It can be as simple as “Learn more” or “Book a consultation” to allow potential clients to engage with the website.

Make sure to put calls to action on visible buttons to increase their effectiveness. CTAs should catch the eye of the visitors to ensure they will click on them. However, avoid having more than one CTA on a page—two separate directions will only confuse the visitor as to which action they need to take.

SEO for Law Firm Websites: The Secret Ingredient

Good website design is one thing, but people still need to find the site if you want any sort of success. That’s why well-built websites have two facets: design and optimization. The second determines how small law firms can compete in the sea of other law firm websites.

Understanding how SEO works will help boost leads and conversion. Four main factors affect SEO. Let’s discuss them further to help you with your SEO rankings.

Content

High-quality content is important to raise your search engine rankings and give a positive user experience to individuals who visit your website. Website content includes everything from images, title tags, and descriptions to blog posts and video content.

Here are some tips to help you produce content that rivals that of the top law firm websites.

• Create content that answers questions of a potential client. If your law firm deals with family law, create content-related topics like marriage dissolution, guardianship, name changes, and other related branches.
• Ensure that your copy is optimized for keywords at all times. To help you rank high on search engine page results, use keyword research tools to find the ideal keywords for your niche.
• Create different content centering around a particular keyword. For example, your keyword is “personal injury lawyer in New Jersey.” You can create content featuring the services you offer. Another content could be the benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer or how much services cost.

Backlinks

The Internet is a never-ending source of high-quality content. This then begs the question, how do search engines determine when content is good? One factor is high-quality backlinks. These are links on other websites that direct traffic to yours.

When other high-authority websites link to your website, it tells search engines that you must be a trustworthy source and know what you’re doing. It increases your credibility, translating to a higher ranking on search engine results.

Local SEO

Beyond backlinks, there is another way to improve your online visibility. You can increase exposure in your area by improving your local SEO. Make sure that your business contact information shows up all over the Internet. Here are some places to place your contact information for better local SEO:

• Legal directories
• Google Business Profile
• Social media platforms (e.g., Twitter and Facebook)

Law firms that give attention to local SEO have a higher chance of getting clients. Since legal matters are reliant on location (i.e., state laws), customers near your business are more likely to inquire about your services.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is one of the most critical factors that affects a website’s SEO performance. Technical SEO relates to how search engine-friendly your website is. As simple as it sounds, it’s the hardest to achieve, and most law firms hire professional services to handle their technical SEO.

The following suggestions will help you with technical SEO:

• Ensure that your website follows the guidelines provided by Google.
• Aim for a fast page load time—2.5 seconds or less, if possible.
• Your website should be mobile-friendly and responsive to different screen sizes.
• Easy navigation is important. Make sure visitors can easily find the page they are looking for.

Setting up your technical SEO is a critical part of the process. Once your foundation is in place, you can focus on other aspects of your website’s SEO.

Professional Law Firm Website Marketing With LBMS

You can establish credibility by simply having good law firm website design. The first few seconds that your customers view your website creates an impression. That’s a small window to convince them to work with you.

If you want to compete with the best law firm websites around, Local Business Marketing Solutions will give you that edge. Our law firm website marketing service has created more than 300 customized websites and landing pages for various clients.

We create law firm sites from scratch to ensure we meet your business’s needs. Our services include the following:

• Building a custom website to develop strong branding—giving your website visitors a positive experience
• Optimizing the website to have quick loading speeds for less waiting time
• Prioritizing search engine optimization to ensure your website appears high on search engine results
• Providing your business with a content management system so you can easily update your content and edit your website

If you want to know more about custom law firm website design, contact us for a 15-minute discovery consultation!