How To Turn Your Law Firm Website Into A User Converting Machine

Originally published by Stacey E Burke Blog.

A website is the most valuable piece of digital real estate a law firm can own. A website serves as a digital storefront or office that greets potential clients. However, just getting users to walk up to the window or even through the digital door is only half of the battle. Law firm websites need to be properly designed and contain optimized content in order to entice users to contact your law firm. If you are receiving very few leads from your website, you’re going to need to make some changes if you want to turn your website into a user converting machine.

Keep It Simple

It cannot be overstated how important it is for a website to have a simple and clean design. If a user lands on your website and is immediately overwhelmed, they won’t stay. The colors on your website need to coordinate with each other, and images need to compliment the design. Every element of a website needs to have a specific purpose – never put an element on your website simply because you think it looks good or because your competitors have it.

If you’re not sure whether or not your site is too complicated, it helps to get a second opinion – and not just from fellow lawyers. When in doubt, try removing two or three design elements and see how your conversion rate changes over a period of time (ideally at least 90 days).

Make It Navigable

Websites need to be easy to use. This means the main menu bar on your website needs to be prominently displayed and contain easy to understand language. The menu should contain links to the most important pages on the website, like the “about us” page, contact page, main blog page, and practice area pages.

If you have ever struggled to find a page on a website, you understand how frustrating it is. If a user is looking for information on construction accidents, you need to make sure it’s easy for them find.

Include Calls To Action

It needs to be incredibly easy for users on your website to reach out to your firm. Clickable links for the firm’s phone number and a contact button should be prominently displayed at the top of each webpage. To ensure users always have easy access to contact your form, website designs can incorporate a “sticky menu.” A sticky menu refers to a portion of the website’s header that sticks to the top of the screen/travels downward when the user scrolls down the page, making the menu always visible at the top of the screen.

In addition to including calls to action in the header of every webpage, calls to action can be used very effectively in other portions of your law firm website design. Content pages and blogs can contain calls to action at the end of each page, and individual attorney bios can include calls to action encouraging users to reach out to the attorneys. Calls to action can include click to call buttons, click to email buttons, contact forms, chat sessions, and newsletter subscription sign ups, among others.

Always Display A Form

Every page on your website should contain a contact form. While some contact forms can be embedded into a page, others work nicely in a side bar. It is not sufficient to only provide a link to the contact page for users who wish to reach out to the firm. The more clicks it takes a user to reach out to your firm, the more likely you’ll lose them along the way. With a contact form on every page, users are always only one click away from reaching out to your firm.

Some law firms also implement pop up forms after a user has spent a certain amount of time on the site. This is a great way to encourage users to contact out to your firm, but it needs to be used correctly.

Website Content Is Crucial

The quality of the content on your website could mean the difference between convincing a user on the fence to contact your firm, or losing the user all together. Website content needs to persuasive. Some law firms discuss their credentials or recent successes in their content, while others focus on how hiring a lawyer can help resolve legal issues successfully. Creating engaging content for your website can be incredibly challenging, so a good place to start is explaining what legal processes and difficulties people in certain situations could face and what rights they possess.

While there is no golden rule for how long your website’s content should be – we recommend each page of copy should contain a minimum of 350 words and a maximum of 1,000 words. It is important for law firms to focus on quality rather than quantity, and only create content that has a purpose.

Personalize Your Firm

Many people feel uncomfortable around lawyers, and depending on your practice areas, you could be dealing with clients in very emotional situations who have never used a lawyer before. Because of this, it is incredibly important to personalize your law firm and its attorneys in your content. Explain why helping clients is so important to your firm and/or how your attorneys can relate to various scenarios that come up in your practice.

A great way to personalize your firm is through video. Including videos on your website allows users to see how your attorneys speak and act and helps them understand your firm without ever meeting any of you in person, making them more likely to reach out to your firm for help.

Putting It All Together

All good websites must go through at least a little bit of trial and error. Testing your website to see what works and what doesn’t is the only way to improve your conversion rate. For those who decide to conduct A/B testing of their law firm website design elements, it is important not to get too zealous about making website changes. When testing a website, only test one element at a time, and ensure you compile enough website data to make informed decisions.

To possess a website with a good conversion rate, you need to put yourself inside of the minds of your users. What do they need and how can you express your unique ability to help? A website is not a “one and done” project. You should always be analyzing and optimizing your website analytics in an effort to strive for the best possible user experience. This will turn your law firm website into a user converting machine.

Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.

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