Website Design

5 Laws That Can Make Or Break Your Law Firm's Website Project (And How to Deal With Them)

5 Laws That Can Make Or Break Your Law Firm's Website Project (And How to Deal With Them)

Most law firms redesign their websites every 36 to 60 months. Due to changes in technology, preferences in design and communication styles, mergers and management shake-ups, and observations about what the competitor down the street is doing, many firms perceive the need—often for good reason—to frequently refresh their online presence.

This process can feel like running on a hamster wheel for law firm marketers tasked with managing their firms’ brands and websites. Just as political campaigns seem to begin anew following the latest election cycle, right when you work through all the bugs of a new law firm website launch, it’s time to start thinking about the next iteration.

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How to Build a Powerful, High-Performing Law Firm Website

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How to Build a Powerful, High-Performing Law Firm Website

A law firm website should be, or at least it can be, an exciting place for clients to learn new things. It should inspire action toward goals and be the first stop on a prospective client’s buyer’s journey. Done right, a law firm website can be the engine that drives a law firm’s growth.

Unfortunately, few law firms realize these benefits.

A Strategic Approach to Legal Business Development

A Strategic Approach to Legal Business Development

Many of us treat legal business development the same way we do bathing suit season - we work hard at it when we need to. When spring break approaches we hit the gym, and when October rolls around we start raiding our kids’ Halloween candy. When we’re slow at work, we ramp up our business development efforts, and tamp things down when business pick up. Legal business development becomes a rollercoaster; a cycle of ups and downs that creates stress and uncertainty.

There’s a better way to approach legal business development, and it involves consistency of effort over the long-term. If you’re consistent with business development as a lawyer, you’ll have a steady pipeline of new business opportunities. You can be more discerning about the work you take on. You won’t feel pressured to take on clients that don’t fit your practice. You won’t have to ignore your gut instinct that an engagement could lead to trouble because you need the revenue. You’ll have more success at the work you do pitch because you’ll come across as confident and measured, rather than desperate.

Sounds good, right? Here’s how to do it.

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How to Create a Stunning, Lead-Generating Law Firm Website in 30 Days or Less

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How to Create a Stunning, Lead-Generating Law Firm Website in 30 Days or Less

When we start working on a law firm website project, we ask our clients: “What do you want your website to accomplish?” One of the most common answers we hear, often delivered with an irresolute shrug of the shoulders, is: “We really just need an online brochure.”

We hate hearing this term—“online brochure”—because it sets such a low bar for what should be a law firm’s strongest marketing asset. A law firm website should look great and function flawlessly, sure. That’s table stakes. But done right, it can be the fuel powering a marketing engine that tells a compelling story, attracts ideal clients, generate leads, and turn leads into new business. Best of all, by incorporating the right mix of marketing automation technology, it can work for your while you’re busy working for your clients.

Sounds good, right? But I know what you’re thinking: “We don’t have the time or the money to invest in a new website.”

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If You’re Good at What You Do, and You Know Who You Serve, it’s Your Duty to Sell

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If You’re Good at What You Do, and You Know Who You Serve, it’s Your Duty to Sell

Think about the last time there was a serious problem that needed to be fixed at your home – the furnace went out on a cold day or a pipe burst and water was running down your walls. Now imagine if, during this moment of panic, a highly qualified and dependable repair person contacted you out of the blue and said they could be at your front door within 15 minutes to fix the problem. Would you be offended by this sales pitch, or would you be grateful for the offer? My guess is that you – like me – would immediately give the guy your address, and greet him with a hug and an open checkbook when he arrived.

“Selling” has become a dirty word. It connotes sleaze and pushiness, and there’s no doubt that some salespeople are sleazy and pushy. But in most cases, it’s not that salespeople do anything underhanded or aggressive that turns us off, it’s just that they hit us up with something we don’t need or at a time we don’t need it. This is true whether you’re a used car salesman, an Apple store “Genius” or a corporate litigator.

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The 5 Essential Elements of a Lead Generating Law Firm Website Homepage

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The 5 Essential Elements of a Lead Generating Law Firm Website Homepage

Is Your Law Firm Website Getting “Reads” or is it Getting Leads? Many law firms resign themselves to the idea that a website is only an online brochure–a place for visitors to view practice area descriptions and professional biographies.

We hate hearing the term "online brochure.” It sets such a low bar for what should be your strongest marketing asset. A law firm website should look great and function flawlessly–that's table stakes.

But done right, it can be the fuel powering a marketing machine that tells a compelling story, attracts your ideal clients, generates leads, and turns leads into new business. Best of all, by incorporating the right mix of marketing automation technology, it can work for you while you’re busy working for your clients.

Too many law firms are realizing few, if any, of these benefits.

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3 Simple Steps to Transform Your Law Firm Website into a Lead Generation Machine

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3 Simple Steps to Transform Your Law Firm Website into a Lead Generation Machine

Is your law firm website getting “reads” or is it getting leads? Many law firms resign themselves to the idea that a website is only an online brochure – a place for visitors to view practice area descriptions and professional biographies. This is misguided. While lead generation has not traditionally been a priority for most professional services websites, failing to optimize and integrate a site as a part of a firm’s holistic business development initiatives is a big mistake.

Law firms are paying tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and develop new websites, and investing even more to drive traffic to the site via spending on advertising, events and content marketing. Despite these investments, most law firm websites are doing little to nothing to capture the traffic and convert it into new business. Is your website passively displaying information, or is it serving as an inbound lead generation machine? If your website isn’t playing an integral role in generating and nurturing new business leads, then I have both bad news and good news for you.

The bad news: You’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Your law firm website is the hub of your marketing. If it’s not generating leads it’s not doing its job.

The good news: While there may be many things you could and should be doing to improve your website (for example, reducing the amount of copy on your website, and rewriting copy so that it is much more client-focused), there are three relatively simple steps you can take to dramatically improve your website’s lead-generating potential.

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Three Things Law Firm Websites Should Focus On (But Most Don’t)

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Three Things Law Firm Websites Should Focus On (But Most Don’t)

Most mid-size to large law firm websites cost tens, and often hundreds, of thousands of dollars. They take anywhere from 6 to 18 months to design, develop and launch. On top of the financial investment, huge amounts of internal hours and resources are devoted to most law firm website projects.

And for what?

Other than temporary, fleeting spikes in website traffic following the launch of a new site (often driven by email marketing and PR investments), can most firms point to any meaningful metrics that justify the massive investments made in their websites? In my experience, and in countless conversations with frustrated in-house marketing professionals, the answer is no. Even in situations where increases in traffic are sustained, more visitors rarely turn into more clients.

That’s a big problem. Because, after all, shouldn’t the objective of a law firm website be to drive new business and revenue? Of course it should.