Small Law Firm Website Needs

You might be missing out on a great opportunity if your website isn’t actively bringing in business for your legal services. By optimizing your website, you can significantly boost your law firm’s online presence and draw in the kind of cases that are perfect for your practice.

If you’ve just begun as a small law firm owner or if you’re established in your community then you know that bringing in clients organically through the web is a key aspect of a healthy law firm. Maybe your competitors or colleagues in the area are beating you out in some keywords or maybe it’s been a while since you revamped your website or marketing plan.

Whatever the case, here’s 3 essential steps and optimizations that your website needs. 

1) Mobile Optimization

Having a website that’s easy to navigate is like giving a friendly guide to your visitors, helping them find exactly what they need – be it legal insights or how to reach out to you. Google loves websites that are a breeze to get around too, with a straightforward layout that makes everything easy to find. 

In 2015 the percentage of searches on the web coming from mobile phones stood at 31.6%. Nowadays, that percentage is reaching close to 55%. Why do we bring this up? Well, there’s a ton of websites out there with great layouts and usability that are built with desktop and laptop users in mind. If your site is one of those then you need to seriously consider a revamp. 75% of users bounce off of mobile sites that take too long to load. What does this mean for your firm? Less calls and less leads. It also means lower rankings. 

Our Tip: Finding a quality web designer is not a walk in the park. Running an underhaul on your site should be seen as an investment (with a long-term horizon on its returns). Our team has worked with dozens of websites and law firms. If a web designer says they can revamp your site in a week or if an agency doesn’t present a good timetable for their work, you should look for a second opinion.

2) Site Speed

Enhancing the speed and functionality of your law firm’s website isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity for attracting and retaining clients. A website’s loading speed significantly impacts their decision to engage with a service. This statistic is particularly relevant for law firms, where first impressions are crucial.

To give your site the speed boost it needs, consider the following actions:

• Reduce HTTP requests by streamlining your site’s code and reducing unnecessary plugins.
• Opt for high-quality hosting solutions tailored for top performance.
• Implement caching plugins to speed up load times.
• Ensure your images are compressed without losing clarity.

Remember, the impact of a swift website goes beyond just user experience. Site speed is a key player in search engine optimization, with Google using it as a ranking factor. A faster site can elevate your visibility in search engine results, drawing more potential clients to your practice.

When it comes to understanding your website’s performance, keep an eye on key metrics like Page Load Time, Time to First Byte, and First Contentful Paint. These will give you a snapshot of how quickly your content becomes accessible to users.

Influencing Factors on Site Speed

Several aspects can affect your website’s speed, for better or worse:

• Image Optimization: Properly optimizing images can dramatically reduce load times. Use appropriate formats and sizes, and consider responsive images to adapt to various devices.
• Streamlining Code: Minifying CSS and JavaScript files removes unnecessary data, thus decreasing their size and boosting page load speed.
• Browser Caching: Utilizing browser caching can significantly decrease load times for repeat visitors, creating a smoother browsing experience.
• Hosting Service: Selecting the right hosting provider, especially one specializing in legal services, can dramatically affect your website’s speed and reliability.

Ongoing Site Speed Enhancement

Continuous improvement is key to maintaining a speedy site. Employ Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) for faster content delivery across different regions. Compress files to speed up their loading times. Avoid render-blocking resources to ensure the quickest access to your most important content. And importantly, optimize for mobile users to ensure a seamless experience across all devices.

By focusing on these speed-boosting strategies, your law firm’s website can offer a more engaging and efficient user experience, setting you apart as a modern, client-focused practice in a competitive legal market.

Our Tip: Not all SEOs (Search Engine Optimizers) are going to be knowledgeable about technical SEO factors. Just like attorneys, you wouldn’t go to a family law firm if you’ve got issues with your invention’s patent application. When you’re talking to an SEO or a marketing agency, make sure you ask about these technical factors.

3) Create Engaging Content

In March of 2024 Google launched a Helpful Content Update (HCU). This is an update from Google that explains what they want to see more of on the web. The search giant has once again reiterated the importance of quality content. In the world of Digital Marketing and SEO this is abbreviated as E-E-A-T. Google wants websites that are looking to gain authority and rankings to deliver users with helpful information and not just blobs of text. 

Whether you’re making videos, articles, infographics, or webinars, you want to be presenting yourself as an authoritative voice. This is especially important for attorneys because attorneys fall into the category of ‘Your Money – Your Life.’ 

Attorneys are specialized professionals. They have invested their time and energy into being able to understand the laws, statutes, and court decisions in their field. They’ve engaged with clients, colleagues, and judges. We believe deeply that our clients have the ability to communicate this legal sphere into valuable information for their own clients and for their community. Understanding this ability opens up the possibilities of expanding your own marketing channels. 

Here’s some ways you can go about creating engaging content:

Tell A Story

Say you’re a family law attorney. Family law is often portrayed as a very tough field because of the potential for deeply emotional and traumatic situations that arise with divorce, custody, and asset division. However, there’s a flip-side. Many family law attorneys find deep satisfaction in being able to help people move forward and find their footing post-marriage. Chances are that you’ve seen a lot if you’ve worked in this field and you can probably use that experience to build a story to explain a complicated situation. 

Find Your Niche

You might be an attorney that focuses on family law but maybe you have a passion for collaborative divorce. You’re probably not going to turn down cases that don’t deal with this specific approach but channeling that passion into building yourself up as the authority figure in your community is a win-win situation. Focusing a part of your marketing strategy into one niche can help you focus on ways to really provide top-notch information.  

Our Last Tip for your law firm’s website optimization

Tracking your website’s visitors, understanding your target audience, optimizing your web pages, creating blog posts, engaging in link building. These are all just some of the factors that come into play when dealing with SEO. If you want to really grow your firm you’ll need to create a long-term marketing strategy. 

That’s where Green Cardigan can help. We’ve helped hundreds of law firm owners with their SEO efforts. Schedule a consultation today.