If you already have a website for your practice, give yourself a pat on the back. The law industry is changing rapidly to Law 2.0, and you are part of the mavericks who recognize this. But how do you become one of the leaders who are at the forefront of this transition? Aside from having an active social media presence and a robust SEO strategy, owning a website that is not only functional but well-designed is critical to ensuring your place at the top. In this post, I have compiled a checklist of the things that tells you it is time for a website redesign.
In this day and age, having a website that looks great on any device has become the norm. According to data from Morgan Stanley, mobile usage will surpass desktop usage this year. If a user has to pinch and zoom his way through your site on his phone, this will result in a frustrating experience for what could’ve been a potential client. And just as you do not want to frustrate your clients in person, you certainly do not want to do that online.
Because so many users will be browsing from their smartphones, you need to have a website that can load quickly. 40% of people will leave a website if it takes 3 or more seconds to load. Considering how mobile browsers may not perform as well due to dropped signals and spotty connections, you definitely want to make sure you overcompensate for these shortcomings by having an optimized website.
Having a Twitter or LinkedIn page for your practice is great. Having links to all of these pages on your website is even better. There are so many ways you can incorporate these social media channels into your site. For example, you can allow visitors to share your blog posts via Twitter, or you can display the links to your Avvo and LinkedIn in your bio. The takeaway here is that your website can and should play a role in centralizing your online presence so that your clients know there are multiple ways to engage with you.
In recent years, there have been an increasing number of new technologies that make online client engagement much easier. Now, you can schedule your appointments with clients online and accept payments for your services on your website. Your website can become more than a digitized brochure and go beyond a simple “Call us now!” call-to-action as a way to interact with your clients.
Sometimes, you need a website redesign simply because the content itself is outdated. Perhaps you have a new practice area that has become your new bread and butter. Or maybe you have hired new staff members over the years. Maybe your firm has been so successful lately, you would like to feature all of your firm’s recent news but your current site was not built with that in mind. As your goals change, your site should change with it to mirror your firm’s priorities.
Bottom line: Your website should be a direct reflection of how you want to be perceived. If your current website is not professional, relevant, or engaging, then maybe it’s time for a change.
Have a question? Get in touch with us. We would be glad to hear from you.
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