Visitors who come to your law firm’s website make a near-instantaneous snap judgment about what they see—and it influences their trust in your law firm as a whole. When all that stands between your firm and a prospect’s digital first impression is 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds), it’s critical that your website design, function, and content are able to speak for themselves.
Your website can directly influence conversions and how much trust prospects and clients establish with your firm from the moment they visit. A Nielson survey found that website ROI can reach 83% if users left feeling like they had a positive browsing experience.
It goes even deeper than that; users rely on your website to supply critical information and help them understand why your firm is the best choice for their legal needs.
A good website is crucial to success for every law firm, but routine pitfalls can bring your greatest lead-generation asset to a grinding halt. Explore the 5 most common website mistakes law firms make and how to fix them in this guide.
5 Most Common Website Mistakes Law Firms Make
Various studies on website design, functionality, and brand trust offer a clear picture of what users are looking for when they visit your firm’s website—and what can drive them away.
Is your firm guilty of the most frequently-made website mistakes? Learn where a law firm website can go wrong and how to fix each issue below.
The Ultimate Website Checklist for Small Law Firms
Make sure your website is saying and doing exactly what it should and offering a great first impression for your firm, with this checklist.
1. Poor or Outdated Website Design
Fifty milliseconds isn’t enough time to understand your firm’s services, staff experience, or specialties, but it’s just enough to determine whether your website design is good or bad. Even non-designers can quickly point out an outdated or chaotic website design; and arriving at a webpage that isn’t visually appealing can send your prospects running to a competitor with a stronger digital presence.
In one study on website credibility, 90% of participants gave higher credibility ratings to websites that were more visually appealing. When 50 milliseconds is all you have to make a great first impression on a potential client, it’s vital that your site design instantly positions your firm as reputable and trustworthy.
How to Fix It
You don’t have to hire or be a web designer to launch a website that makes a great first impression when you use a service like TitleTap. TitleTap offers turnkey, done-for-you websites specialized for the legal industry. It’s a cost-effective solution that ensures you end up with a modern, clean design that invites new visitors to take the next step and contact your firm. TitleTap has a library of secure, responsive, and sleek website designs to choose from.
2. Not Mobile-Friendly
Nearly 62% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices today, meaning a large segment of your website visitors are browsing from smartphones and tablets. When a law firm website isn’t mobile-friendly, the page contents don’t scale to fit the smaller screens of mobile devices.
As a result, almost 62% of your users will struggle to fill out a contact form, access buttons on the page, or view text in a readable size. These challenges can decimate your conversion rate, cause high bounce rates, and penalize your website’s ability to rank on search engines.
How to Fix It
Ensure your website is mobile-responsive so it can adapt to screens of different sizes while preserving the layout. TitleTap builds customized, turnkey websites for law firms, ensuring you’ll launch with a fully mobile-friendly site that supports your ability to rank in search results while offering every visitor the best experience.
Website Best Practices for Law Firms and Title Companies
Learn the 7 website components to attract clients and build a thriving business.
3. Little to No Customization
Generic websites that don’t reflect your firm’s brand—the logo, color scheme, fonts, and style that you want clients to associate with your practice—don’t inspire much confidence in visitors. When prospects come to your site, your firm’s branding should be immediately apparent in the design and layout.
Law firm websites with little to no customization can tank your credibility with prospects and clients. Generic DIY websites can lead potential clients to question your firm’s capabilities and make it harder to create a strong first impression.
How to Fix It
Make sure your website is tailored to your practice, showcasing your logo, brand colors, and clear contact information that tells visitors who you are and how to get in touch.
TitleTap creates customized law firm websites that can be personalized as much as you’d like, from photos and text to logos and color schemes. Instead of building a custom website from the ground up, just choose a website template, pick your plan and add-ons, and choose the industry integrations you need to make your website launch successful.
4. Lacking Content for SEO & Engagement
Law firms sometimes believe having a website with contact information and a contact or consultation request form is enough to succeed online. Both are essential, but these elements are only two pieces of the puzzle. Without SEO-driven landing page content, blog posts, and a library of FAQs, your website can’t reach its full potential.
Prospective clients want to see that your firm actively updates and monitors the website, adding new information and engaging content regularly. Posting SEO-focused content on your site also makes it possible for your law firm to show up in relevant search results and tap into a vast network of leads that are already searching for legal assistance.
How to Fix It
Creating great content takes time and expertise, but pre-written content and FAQs for the legal industry can get you started with an SEO boost for your website. TitleTap websites come with free starter content that you can tweak and customize, and with the new AI Content Generator, you can create content at scale in seconds to drive engagement and clicks that translate into new clients.
5. Unprotected Against Security Threats
Your prospective clients know that data is always at risk when it’s shared online—hackers, malware, and spam are at the forefront of every internet user’s mind when they visit a new website. Many law firms fail to protect their websites against the most common security threats, and as a result, put sensitive client and prospect data at risk.
Providing top-tier website security that keeps client data safe and protected is your responsibility as a reputable law firm. Not only will it help you establish trust and credibility with potential and current clients, but it’s also key to staying in compliance with strict SOC 2 standards.
How to Fix It
Your website should have an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) installed with added firewall and spam prevention protection. DIY website builders and local agencies often provide security at an extra cost, but every TitleTap website gets built-in security and compliance with complete protection for confidential client and firm data.
Get Your Firm’s Website on Track With TitleTap
Fixing the most common website mistakes law firms make puts you ahead of the game. TitleTap can help you stand out from the competition and make your website the core of your firm’s lead generation strategy with an appealing, customized design, SEO content, a mobile-friendly interface, and the best in website security.
Schedule a demo now to see how easy it is to launch your firm’s done-for-you, optimized website with TitleTap!
Experience TitleTap’s Difference!
Don’t settle for less! Join countless satisfied clients who have transformed their online presence with TitleTap. Enjoy awesome support, free redesigns, and a 60-day guarantee!