Do You Have an Effective Web Site?

by Melissa Paulson,
FindLaw Account Manager

OK, so you have a Web site.  Everybody else has a Web site, too.   Now what?   The important question is, how can you make your site more effective? Here are a few very basic ideas to make sure that you are getting the most out of your Web presence. 

1. Home page.    This is the most important page!  You must have a home page that grabs the visitor’s attention, is clear and informative, and encourages someone to contact the firm, or at least click into the site.  If a client can not determine within 10 seconds what type of law your firm practices, then it's time to revise your home page. Remember, online readers have a short attention span. Grab them and make them want to look around your site.  Which brings us to our next point...

2. Content.  Good content is critical!This seems like an obvious point, but many legal Web sites seem to miss it. There are hundreds of Web sites that lack fresh, interesting, current content.  Why have a Web site if you are not going to say anything?  If you don't have time to create good content yourself, hire someone who can.  These days, the big search engines, Yahoo and Google, are scanning thousands and thousands of sites for compelling content.  

3. Usability and Navigation.    If information is hard to access, it won't be seen!  Don't hide all the good stuff five clicks into your site.  Information should be easy to find. Think about adding features that make your site easy to use, such as a search option or an FAQ page. 

Also, make sure it is easy to get back home. You can leave “breadcrumbs” that indicate where a visitor is in the Web site’s hierarchy.  A simple “trail of breadcrumbs” can appear at the top of a Web page and look something like this: Home > Practice Areas > Family Law > Adoption.

It is also a wonderful idea to be able to inter-link from different pages.  For example, on your attorney profiles, make sure the visitor can link to the attorneys’ practice areas, to articles they have written, their direct e-mail address and back to other attorneys and, of course, the home page.  On the articles page, make sure you can link from an article to the attorney who wrote it. Bottom line: Don't let anyone get lost out there!

4. Call to action.  All the traffic in the world won't help you get business unless prospective clients contact you.  You should have your e-mail address and phone number (toll-free if possible) on every page.  It is okay to repeat information—actually it is a must—you never know which page the client will click into.  If you offer a free consultation, tell them.  Ask them to contact you.  Ask for their business.

5. Keep it up-to-date.    If your "What's New" page hasn't been updated since 1999, what does that say to a client about your firm's attention to detail?  You need to think of your Web site as an ongoing project.  If you have a monthly or quarterly newsletter, make sure you add it to your Web site in a timely fashion.  Have you recently written an article, or taught a class?  Talk about it on your site.  Is the photo of you from 1992?  Time to get a new one. Keep it fresh!

If you follow these basic steps, you will see results from your Web site.  Maybe not tomorrow or next week but be patient.  Rome wasn't built in a day. And your Web site shouldn't be either.