What Should I Put On The Front Page Of My Law Firm Website?
There are so many things that you want the potential law firm client to know. You want them to know about your education, testimonials, lawyer and firm credentials, awards, practice areas, verdicts, your books, videos, blog posts, phone number, contact form, office address, guarantees, client resources, client bill of rights, community involvement, alerts… but wait, I probably shouldn’t put ALL of that on my front page, right?
No, you shouldn’t put everything that you want to tell a client on the front page. You have ten seconds to make an impression and convince people to keep reading. A cluttered page or one with too much content will confuse and/or intimidate potential clients and they will leave.
How do you select what goes on the front page? Keep in mind that there is a difference between what you want and what the user wants on your front page. Somewhere in the middle you will find the balance needed to create a compelling front page.
When users find their way to your site, there is a reason behind their visit. You were either found by a specific law term on an Internet search engine, referred by another person, advertisement or website, or they are return visitors. Into which group do your visitors usually fall?
Optimizing Your Design
Let’s say that your users are finding you mainly through Google or another Internet search engine. Obviously, a main goal of your website is to attract law firm clients. If you are optimizing your legal website with specific terms in mind, you or your SEO firm should cater to those terms in the top half of your front page. Usually these terms will be practice areas or ways you can help your potential client. Couple these terms with powerful imagery. If these terms match what the user is searching for, they will mostly likely stay on your site and dig to find more information. If they do not see what they are searching for right away, the user will hit the back button to return to his or her search.
Client Referrals
If your users have been referred by someone, they could be there for a number of reasons. Generally we find they are there to find out more information about a practice area, attorney or accomplishment. This person will have already made a judgment about your abilities, depending upon how they view the person who gave the referral. In this situation, you want to make it easy to find their way through your site. Navigation is often overlooked as being one of the most crucial elements of your site. It should be prominent, clear and easy to use. This user is probably stressed from the situation they are currently seeking help for and will not endure a difficult search. Too many options or poor typographical / font choices could deter further searching.
Another area of interest would be the profile of a specific attorney in your office. The person has already received positive feedback about this attorney, and he or she will thus be looking for that specific person. You should prominently display a link or graphic that allows visitors to become more acquainted with your attorneys and staff. Your potential clients would like to know more about who will be helping them and what they have accomplished in the past. Having a video or picture of the attorney is helpful so that the visitor can make a visual connection to the attorney.
Return Visitors
Return visitors are generally looking for a contact method or an office location. Make your contact information easy to see at the top of the page. It should be on every page; both at the top and bottom. Lead the client from the front page to your contact information or contact form. Hold their hand through the process and make it easy. There is no excuse for losing a client at this point. Not to mention if it is easy to contact you, you will build rapport with the person before he or she has even spoken to anyone at the office.
Consider mobile users. By 2013, most visitors will be visiting your website via their cell phone or other mobile device and you want them to have a pleasant experience.
There are so many things you can squeeze into your website’s front page. Just keep in mind that this is not the place for your visitor to experience visual overload. Find a nice balance between what your users need to find and what you want them to know when your page first loads.
If you would like additional information or learn how we can help you improve your Web presence, please feel free to contact us at marketing@consultwebs.com or call us at 800-872-6590.
