Top 15 Law Firm Website Mistakes: You can’t ignore the numbers… Over 5.6 billion people search Google every day. That’s a BIG market and one that cannot be ignored. At least by my business, and if you own a business, it’s a number you CANNOT ignore either.
For that reason, your website is more important than it has ever been. Your website design, website content, and website advertising need to be better than your competition to attract new qualified leads.
Our business works with law firms to build high-end designed websites and create credibility, along with marketing to bring clients to your most important asset.
This article will cover some common law firm website mistakes your firm may be making right now and how to avoid them. You can implement these steps or hire a professional web designer.
Top 5 Law Firm Website Design Mistakes
A website design is the first thing people will notice when visiting your site. The color and images of your site work in conjunction with your content style to convey an appropriately aesthetic and professional feeling to visitors.
To create a good overall design, consider these common mistakes:
- Not having a clear plan for your website.
- Unresponsive design.
- Bad photos or graphics
- Undefined call-to-actions
- Too many or incorrect uses of fonts
- Use of Too Many Jargon Terms and Phrases
- Unclear Communication of What You Do
- Poor Spelling and Grammar
- Poor Keyword Usage
- Irrelevant Content
- Lack Trust Indicators
- False or Untrue Biography
- Missing Testimonials
- Unplanned Marketing Strategy
- Not optimizing your website for search engines
1) Not having a clear plan for your website.
One of the most important things to do when designing a website is to have a plan. This will help you stay focused and not get lost in the details. A plan will also help you ensure that your design is cohesive and has a clear purpose.
A good way to start is by deciding on your target audience. Once you have done this, it will be easier to identify your website needs. For example, if your target audience is teenagers or young adults, it might make sense to use bright colors and large fonts. But if your target audience is senior citizens, then it might be better for you to use light colors and small fonts so that everything can be read without glasses or other vision aids.
2) Unresponsive Design / Not Mobile Friendly
A responsive website design, aka mobile-friendly web design, is the best way to ensure your website is delivered correctly to users on all devices, from smartphones to tablets and desktop computers. Your text should flow to a single column to encourage scrolling, images may need resizing to fit narrow windows, and your site’s menu may need to be presented differently to make the user experience easier.
It might be a good idea to prioritize mobile responsive design for your website because of the number of people who will abandon their search if your site isn’t optimized for their device.
3) Bad photos and Graphics
Bad photos and graphics can make a website look unprofessional and reduce a company’s credibility even worse. To avoid this, here are some tips for taking better photos and using high-quality graphics in your design:
- Use professional and appropriate stock photos and videos.
- Use natural light to take pictures.
- Avoid using filters or editing pictures too much.
- Keep the background simple and clean to avoid distracting people’s attention from the content you want them to see.
- Hire a professional photographer instead of using the camera on your phone.
4) Undefined call-to-actions
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… CTAs are a crucial part of any website. They are the button or link that tells the user what to do next. CTAs can be different, such as sign up, buy now, and learn more. The first step for creating clear call-to-actions is to define what you want your user to do.
This is not always an easy task, but it is essential to have a successful website. The next step is to create buttons with clear and concise text that will lead your user toward their desired action. When creating a call-to-action, there are various things you should consider.
These things include the size of the text, color scheme, design aesthetic, and sound when hovering over it.
- Font Size; The text should be large enough to read but not so large as to be overwhelming, or the text would be difficult to read in real life.
- Color scheme; Making color schemes easy for your users is important because it makes navigation easier and creates a cohesive flow between pages. Colors can also have associations with certain emotions or objects, so using these colors on your website can help with user engagement.
- Layout; If the website has a complicated layout, it might be difficult to navigate or understand which page they are on. So, keep the design simple and intuitive if you want to make it easier for your users to find what they are looking for.
- Text alignment; Text alignment helps with legibility. This means that the text is more easily readable and can be followed. Do not make your text too small or too large because this will cause unnecessary eye strain.
- Keep instructions short and to the point; users don’t like to read through many instructions when searching for something on a website. It can be useful, though, especially if you need to
5) Too many or incorrect uses of fonts
Fonts are a very important part of designing a website. There is a lot to consider when choosing the right font for your website, and it can be quite overwhelming. You need to think about what kind of message you want to convey, what the purpose of your site is, the audience you are targeting, and the overall style you are going for.
People make many mistakes when they design their websites, and one of them is using too many or incorrect fonts on their websites. This can be distracting and make it difficult for users to read your content and navigate your site easily.
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… There are many different fonts to choose from. Some of the most popular ones are Arial, Verdana, and Helvetica. These fonts are easy to read and work well for any kind of project that you might be working on.
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… Others, like Comic Sans, may not work as well for your website design, but they do have their place on the web. The problem with using Comic Sans is that you will become childish and unprofessional if you use it for your website design. It does have its place in the design world but not on the web. Even though it may be easy to read, it is considered inappropriate because of the way that people might see you and your brand as a result.
Cursive fonts may be easier to read, but they are also considered more difficult to work with and can be hard for even experienced designers to use at times because of the complexity of their shapes. There is no consistency in how cursive fonts are written, which can make it challenging for people who are not native speakers.
5 Law Firm Website Content Mistakes
Blogs, practice area pages, whitepapers, infographics, etc.–all types of common law firm website content. Even if you include all kinds of content, you need the content optimized for user experience. To avoid the most common mistakes when it comes to website content, consider the following:
6) Use of Too Many Jargon Terms and Phrases
Nothing can lose a read faster than talking over their heads. You want to engage visitors on your website at their level, in lamen terms. This helps your website visitors understand your content better and create a new level of trust with potential clients.
Content is the backbone of all good businesses. It needs to be compelling and easy to read. While it is possible to include legal information on your website, that type does not typically make up most of the content. If your content is hard to understand, you risk losing clients. and potential customers. When designing your website, consider the process by which you will be bringing in new users.
7) Unclear Communication of What You Do
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… I can’t begin to express how often I go onto a website and have to kind of decipher what exactly it’s about (your website visitors aren’t detectives trying to BUST their next big case—they are clients walking into the door of your business, so help them find where to buy). When potential clients land on your website, they should know what you do and how you can help them within a few seconds.
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… This is accomplished partly by using clear and concise verbiage in titles, making them big (within reason) and prominent at the top of the page. As I mention in the design section, font legibility is imperative to ensure you connect with potential clients and get your point across as soon as possible (basically, get straight to the POINT.).
8) Poor Spelling and Grammar
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… It may seem obvious to edit content before posting, but not all law firms do so correctly. Sloppy grammar and time-consuming and exhausting typos can significantly impact your company’s site more than you may realize.
The most crucial thing is to ensure that all important link texts are written accurately and attractively. If you want to improve the content on your site, consider outsourcing your content to a digital marketing company.
On top of being time-consuming and exhausting, typos can also significantly impact your company’s site more than you may realize. The most crucial thing is to ensure that all important link texts are written accurately and attractively.
9) Poor Keyword Usage
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… To get your website ranked, your content needs to be on-point; this means implementing an effective keyword strategy. Start with keyword research, then create relevant headlines, titles, and images. Consider what areas of law you practice the most and find out what keywords are associated with your content.
Tools like SEMRush, Google Trends, and Google’s Keyword Planner can greatly help with this. Having an idea of your target keywords is vital when designing your website.
By strategically implementing them on the site, you can increase the success rate of your SEO campaign. If you are unsure how to impress your audience with your content, find a digital marketing company specializing in content creation for law firms.
Diversify your content to retain the attention of your audience; you should be a little more creative in how you use your content. You can produce infographics, videos, or podcasts to keep people interested in your content.
10) Irrelevant Content
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… The key to keeping track of your content relevance is always remembering your client’s pain points and the solutions you offer to help them.
Always be clear and direct with your content, and focus on your audience’s needs. It’s much easier to provide content that addresses their problems and is more likely to convert them into customers. The hierarchy of client wants is often closely related to content. Closely watch what they are looking for and see if you address them. If not, they may take the site or business no further.
5 Law Firm Website Advertising Mistakes
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… As I previously mentioned, your website is your business’s most important digital asset. I cannot stress this enough, most of your digital budget should be allocated to building a complex and professional website. This section discusses how you can use your website as an advertising vehicle and what mistakes to avoid.
11) Lack of Trust Indicators
First off, what is a trust indicator? Some trust indicators are ratings and reviews, awards, and longevity content (ie, years in business). A trusted indicator is any type of data that can be used as a measure of who to trust.
Some examples are ratings and reviews, awards, and business longevity. Validating trust indicators is the process of testing whether or not these trust indicators are accurate and reliable.
12) False or Untrue Biography
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… Your public biography can be an excellent form of advertising on the internet. ISPs and search engines will display information that is accurate and up to date, which is why it’s important for you to regularly update your public profile. In some cases, unethical lawyers falsely claim to have certain credentials and falsely claim to have a certain specialization, degree, or certification.
If a lawyer’s bio is inaccurate, it can be difficult for clients to determine which lawyer they want to choose. This can also get them into trouble with the law in their area.
As they are practicing law in violation of licensing or ethics. Lawyers who falsely claim to be an expert in a certain field may also offer legal advice that is inappropriate for their practice area. People need to know what the lawyer specializes in before choosing them to get the best help possible.
13) Missing Testimonials
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… Testimonials can be a crucial marketing strategy for any law firm, not just figuring out what to say in an advertisement. People researching attorneys will certainly do their research, and reviews of reviews are incredibly important.
You can share testimonials from previous customers to give your clients a better understanding of what you do. If you don’t have any testimonials yet, find out why. Reach out to former customers and ask them to share their experiences with others.
14) Unplanned Marketing Strategy
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… Websites and social media profiles need to have coordinated branding. This means consistently using colors, law firm name formatting, and logos and having a coherent tone of voice on all content, ads, posts, etc.
If you have a marketing strategy that lacks coordination, customers may not understand where to find what they need or why their messaging is inconsistent. They might get confused and move on to competitors who can offer a better solution.
A marketing strategy that lacks coordination may cause a decrease in sales. This is why it is important to have a marketing approach that offers more clarity and consistency for customers on both the website and social media. (Law Firm Website Mistakes).
15) Not optimizing your website for search engines
Search engine optimization, aka SEO, is the process that ensures your website can be found on search engines like Google and Bing. For instance, if a user on Google types in “Injury Attorneys in Las Vegas” in the search field—your website would be found on the list, ideally in the first spot, which receives a majority of the organic traffic through search engines.
How SEO works is important to know.
SEO tips and strategies.
On-site search engine optimization.
On-site SEO includes On-site optimization, Internal linking, and Link building. On-site optimization is a website owner’s process to make their site easy to navigate with relevant and well-written content to attract targeted visitors. The goal of on-site optimization is to increase organic search engine traffic, user traffic, leads, and conversions.
How 702 Pros Can Help Reduce Law Firm Website Mistakes
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… When you avoid law firm website mistakes, you improve your chances of actively increasing your firm’s clientele and revenue. If you are looking to revamp your website and want professional guidance, 702 Pros can help.
Law Firm Website Mistakes Continued… We are here to help and welcome the opportunity to visit with you for free regarding your law firm website’s content and how we can take these tasks off your plate! Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a quick phone or video call on our calendar today at your convenience. You can also email us at [email protected] or call (702) 904-4262
Common Law Firm Website Mistake Questions:
- Q: What should a law firm website contain?
- Q: What makes a law website reliable? A: The site should include links to relevant legislation and case law, which can be found at The People’s Law Library. We have a lot of helpful legal workers on hand at all times who can provide consultation about the pros and cons of different choices for your legal proceedings.
- Q: How important is a website for a law firm? A: A great website is essential for success in today’s competitive market. With websites, you can reach potential clients and grow your business without worrying about traditional marketing like waiting for phone calls or going door to door. You should understand that even an average-looking website can cost you, new clients.
- Q: Why does my law firm need a website and SEO? A: Law firms can now incentivize themselves in Google Search – by boosting search visibility for their reputation. Without SEO, legal services will be trumped and outranked by other businesses.
- Q: How can I improve my law firm website? A: Keep your design simple, fresh, and unique. Showcase your services and attorney profiles. Pay attention to site load times. Make your site easily accessible. Organize your site to provide a better user experience. Content is important
- Q: Do law firms need websites? A: A well-designed website is an important component of any marketing strategy. It establishes credibility, builds trust, and leads to increased business.
- Q: How much does a law firm website cost?
- Q: How do you create a law firm?
- Q: How do you evaluate a website?
- Q: Why is it important to evaluate a website?
- Q: Is evaluating your website important?
- Q: What is website evaluation?
- Q: Is Nolo credible?
- Q: Is Nolo com a legitimate website?
- Q: Can a lawyer have a website?
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