Website Design Inspiration for Law Firms
Your website is your digital shop window, the heart of your online presence. Yet, surprisingly, just 78% of small business owners in the UK have a website. If your law firm doesn’t have one or you’re not impressed with its performance, it’s time to consider design.
Everybody knows the importance of first impressions. Putting as much time into your website as you do your practice is always a recipe for success. But where should you start?
Let’s dive into some website design inspiration to help inform the newest incarnation of your website.
Why should law firms have a website?
Investments are never guaranteed, but a well-designed website is as close as you will get. For example, according to HubSpot, did you know that web design improves time-on-site by 84% and year-on-year revenues by 132%?
If that’s not a good enough reason, here are some other reasons why your law firm must have a website:
- Increase brand exposure.
- Draw in your target audience.
- Provide helpful legal resources.
- Make it easy for prospective clients to find you.
- Tell your law firm’s story.
All this adds up to an increase in the bottom line. Without a website, you don’t exist in the digital realm.
Law firm website design best practices
Approximately 59% of people prefer to browse beautiful and well-designed websites, but before you can get into specific design choices, it’s vital to adhere to best practices.
Best practices have changed somewhat over time, so what do people expect as a minimum today?
- Keep things simple. Avoid adding unnecessary design elements and overwhelming your visitors.
- Build a visual hierarchy. In other words, structure your site so that information flows.
- Ensure you have an intuitive navigation system. So visitors can find what they need.
- Maintain consistency. Across every page too.
- Invest in a responsive design. This is so your site adapts to any device it’s accessed from.
- Follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This is to make your site accessible.
- Conduct user testing. This helps to gauge what people think.
These are the basic concepts every website should have. However, they concentrate on the abstract, so what should your law firm website design include?
What should a law firm website design include?
Every industry follows its conventions regarding design, and the legal industry is no different. Every element should convey a particular message or flavour. Let’s examine what every good legal website should include.
Real images of the team
It’s no secret that the legal industry is stereotyped as cold and impersonal, and that’s not what the average client wants.
Break the mould by showing who you are. Avoid using stock images of lawyers and opt for professional photos of the people behind the brand. It’s one of the things that distinguishes your firm from someone else’s.
Accessible service pages
The law is confusing to the average person. One aspect legal websites suffer from is information overload without any clear direction. Your website’s job is to quickly get your visitors to where they need to be.
Make your service pages loud and clear. Whether this is linked on the main navigation bar or within boxes on your homepage, your various service pages should be visible and neatly divided.
Clear testimonials/reviews
A solicitor’s reputation is everything. Lead with the reputation you’ve spent years of your life building. Include testimonials on your website in prominent places rather than hiding them away.
Even better, if you already have reviews on Yelp, Google, or any other channel, put them first. This helps build trust and proves they’re from legitimate people.
Simple contact forms
Legal clients naturally have many questions. During stressful periods, people search for lawyers, so make them feel relaxed at every opportunity.
Too many law firm websites use complicated contact forms asking a million different questions that should be kept for the initial consultation. Whether you’re using a WordPress plugin or coding a site from scratch, use a simple, clear contact form.
You may even want to consider including an embedded contact form in the footer of every page.
Well-designed Calls to Action (CTA)
Informative and educational pages provide value, but without an indication of what you want the reader to do next, you’ll lose them. Every page should include a clear CTA to direct them to a particular action.
Examples of CTAs could include:
- Schedule a free consultation.
- Sign up for the newsletter.
- Read this page for more information.
- Follow us on social media.
CTAs are remarkably effective, yet 70% of B2B websites alone don’t use them. View your website as a journey, with each page having a CTA that will lead your visitor to their next destination.
Strong multi-channel branding
Consistency across your website is crucial; the same applies to other channels. Many lawyers assume that branding isn’t relevant to them, but your brand is your story. It’s what separates you from every other law firm.
Your brand should extend to your website and your newsletter, how you speak to your clients, and social media channels.
Understanding how SEO works with website design
Web design isn’t just about aesthetics. It also has a massive impact on SEO and, therefore, where you rank in SERPs. Google incorporates design into its ranking signals to create a benchmark for what it believes a great user experience is.
Opting for SEO web design optimises your site for Google, ensuring that your website helps rather than hinders your SEO. A site design can look great on paper, but Google will penalise you if it lacks the appropriate nuts and bolts.
Some of the most common mistakes businesses make with their web designs include:
- Poor mobile optimisation.
- No responsive design.
- Low word count pages.
- Duplicate content issues.
- Slow load times.
Remember, web design isn’t just the colours on the banner. It’s also the content on the page. Content is as fundamental to good web design as anything else, so neglect it at your peril. Google’s standards define what they believe to be a high-quality website for its users.
Let Tao Digital Craft a Lead-Generating Powerhouse
Your website is the key to attracting and converting leads. At Tao Digital, our team blends website design and development to supercharge your law firm SEO strategy. Our designers help you turn your vision into something tangible so that you have a digital presence your law firm can be proud of.
If you’re ready to start your journey to online success, reach out to the team today.