Someone lands on your law firm’s website with a problem they did not want to have. A claim against their property. A dispute with a tenant. A letter from an insurance carrier.
They are not reading your bio from top to bottom. They are scanning for one answer: can this firm help someone like me?
If your website answers that in the first few seconds, the phone rings. If it doesn’t, they hit the back button and call the next firm on the list.
Who your website is really talking to
Most law firm websites are written for other lawyers. Credentials up top, a list of practice areas, a contact form at the bottom.
Your visitor is not another lawyer. It is a property manager, a contractor, an HOA board member or a business owner who needs a specific kind of help, usually soon.
Good law firm website design starts there. Before anything is designed, it is worth writing one sentence: who do you want to call you next month, and about what?
5 things a law firm website must do before anyone calls
- Say who you help in the first screen
- Give every practice area its own page
- Put your reviews where people decide
- Make calling you take one tap
- Work for every visitor, including people using assistive technology
1. Say who you help in the first screen
“Experienced. Trusted. Results.” could describe any firm in the country.
“Defense counsel for property owners, landlords and contractors in the East Bay” tells the right visitor they are in the right place. It also tells the wrong visitor, politely, to keep looking. That is a good thing. It saves both of you a phone call.
2. Give every practice area its own page
A single “Practice Areas” page with 10 bullet points is easy to build. It is also invisible.
People search for the specific help they need. Premises liability defense. Unlawful detainer. Construction defect. Cumis counsel. Each of those deserves its own page that explains who it is for, what usually happens next and how to reach you.
Those pages do 2 jobs at once. They answer the visitor’s question in plain language. And they give Google a clear page to show for that exact search.
3. Put your reviews where people decide
If clients have taken the time to write about you on Google, those words are worth more than anything you write about yourself.
Don’t hide them on a separate testimonials page nobody visits. Place them next to the practice areas and near the contact button, where a visitor is deciding whether to call.
4. Make calling you take one tap
Many visitors find you on a phone, often between other things. Your number should be visible without scrolling and tap to call.
Then check the small things. Is the number the same on your website, your Google Business Profile and your directory listings? Does the contact form actually reach someone? It sounds obvious. It is also where a lot of firms quietly lose calls.
5. Work for every visitor
An accessible website is readable with a screen reader, usable with a keyboard and clear for people with low vision.
It is the right thing to do. For many firms it also matters professionally. The Department of Justice has guidance on web accessibility under the ADA that is worth a read. A visible way to request assistance and a published accessibility statement are simple places to start.
What this looked like for a San Ramon defense firm
Ghantous Law Corporation is a woman-owned defense and litigation firm in San Ramon. Its clients range from insurance carriers to property owners, landlords, HOAs and contractors facing claims.
Much of the firm’s work is specialist. People search for it by name, so the site was built around those searches:
- A page for every practice area, written for the person who needs it
- Google reviews placed front and center
- Local search set up for San Ramon and the East Bay, with structured data that tells Google exactly what kind of firm it is
- An always-visible assistance call button and a published accessibility statement
- Ongoing SEO after launch, so the site keeps improving
Here is how Karyne Ghantous describes the result:
“Since my website went live, my phone rings with clients who I desire to work with, it has taken the mystery out of the searches for the client while pairing me with clients I can help.”
That is the goal. Not more calls. The right calls.
What your website doesn’t need
A law firm website does not need a chatbot, a video background or a blog post every week to be effective.
It needs to be clear about who you help. It needs a page for each thing you do. And it needs to be fast, easy to use on a phone and kept up to date.
Every extra feature is one more thing to maintain. Be intentional about what earns its place.
Where to start
If you are not sure how your current website measures up, start with a free website review. It looks at your site the way a client and a search engine would, and shows what to fix first.
If it turns out a new website is the right move, here is how we build one. And if the site is fine but needs looking after, that is what care plans are for.
Would your website pass the first-screen test today?