Are you ready to launch your law firm’s new website?
It can be nerve-racking to hit that “publish” button. Once it’s out there, the site will be many potential clients’ first interaction with your business.
How can you be sure it’s good enough to go live?
Luckily, there are a few basic principles of effective web design. If you’ve followed them, your site is sure to look clean and professional.
As a law firm, it’s crucial that possible clients get the feeling that you’re capable and trustworthy. If your website looks slapped together or disorganized, many will be discouraged from hiring you.
You only get one chance to make a first impression. Click here for the top 8 web design tips to help make your law firm’s website welcoming and attractive.
1. Aim for a Simple Aesthetic
You might think that adding a lot of bells and whistles will make your site look more professional. As if a web designer must have done it because there’s so much going on. In fact, it’s just the opposite.
Keeping colors, typefaces, and graphics simple is the best way to go. An understated look will feel modern and clean.
Simple also means no music or automatic sounds on your site. It’s amateurish and annoying. Though a user can turn off the sound on their computer, they’re more likely to just exit your site.
2. Quick Loading Speeds
Another reason for people to get annoyed and exit your site? If it’s taking too long for a page to load.
One reason why some pages load slower than others is if the design is too elaborate. But, since you’re going with a simple aesthetic (right?) that won’t be the problem.
Make sure the images and video you do include on your site are optimized. Images should be JPEGS if possible and their size should be scaled appropriately. Videos should be compressed or embedded on a third party website like Youtube.
If you use a website like WordPress to design your site, you can include a page speed optimization plugin. Another option is to upgrade your hosting platform package.
3. Make it Easy to Find
If you want people to find your site, then you need to make it easy for search engines to find it too.
SEO is crucial for your website. Though it seems confusing, you don’t have to hire someone to figure it out for you. If a pro isn’t in your firm’s budget, there are ways to optimize your site on your own.
You should be including keywords, a proper sitemap, and URLs. Sites like WordPress also have basic SEO plugins you can use. These are great when starting, as well as maintaining your site.
4. Consistency is Key
One way to make your website look professional is to keep the design consistent. From page to page the color palette, typography, and layouts should all be the same.
Keeping things consistent is just as much about the design as it is about your attention to detail. Being a great lawyer means you’re observant.
If one page’s text layout is left-aligned and another page is centered, that looks sloppy. It appears like you weren’t paying attention. That’s not a good impression to make on potential clients!
One tip, is to use justified text layouts on all your pages. That’s when the edges of the writing are even on both the right and left side. It looks more professional than a centered text layout.
5. Branding Should Be Prominent
Brand recognition is a big part of building a successful business. Your law firm’s colors and logo should be prominent on your website. That way, your brand will be remembered by people who interact with the site.
It’s a good idea to have a logo or brand message on the header of every page. That way no matter which one they visit, you’re continuing to create that recognition.
One way to learn more about what prominent branding looks like is by checking out other law firm sites. It will help you get some inspiration!
6. Choose the Right Images
The quality of the images you use on your site will contribute to the professionalism of your site.
That’s especially true if you include photos of the firm’s law partners. If you can, hire a professional photographer to take headshots of each lawyer. Each photo will look consistent, which we know is important!
7. Create Quality Content
The look of your design is just as important as the content within it. Bad writing will minimize the effect of an attractive site.
Take your time drafting your “About” page. Have someone proofread it for mistakes. Then have another person proof it!
Any content you include should be easy to read, relevant, and useful to your clients. That’s especially true if you decide to have a blog. Great content will drive more people to your site improving your SEO ranking.
8. Try the “F” Layout
Users tend to scan digital content in an “F” pattern. They will read from left to right on the top and middle of the page. People also scan down the left side of a website.
The right side of any site generally won’t get as much attention as the left. The content you really want people to see should fall in line with an “F” layout.
If there’s a navigation bar, put it on the left side as opposed to the right. On your header, company logos or names should be in the left corner.
Use These Web Design Tips for an Attractive Site
For an attractive and professional law firm website, be sure to use these web design tips. Your site is a direct reflection of your business and the quality of work you do. If you want to attract new clients, this is the first step in doing so.
Need some more inspiration before you start designing? Check out this article, “15 Examples of Beautiful Clean Website Designs.”
