This year’s post about best law firm websites is a little different than the past. In 2010 and 2011, I provided links of sites that I found to be the best representation of great website design in order to provide inspiration for firms that were looking to develop or redesign their websites. I based my choices on my own professional design judgement with a few criteria that I explained.
This year, nominations took place here, on Lawyerist.
Isn’t that the truth? —Ed.
Sam Glover may have his finger on the pulse of technology, run a successful law practice blog, and write PHP code in his sleep, but lets be realistic. We have all learned many lessons the hard way, such as the “time is money” lesson, and the “stick to what you know” lesson. As a result, we are all painfully sympathetic to newer shows like Renovation Realities , Rescue Renovation, and Disaster DIY that often feature homeowners getting in over their heads.
Likewise, I have had a few too many experiences recently with clients who attempt to tackle website design only to have it explode like a homeowner hitting a sewer main. In the same way you do not want DIY legal clients, I prefer not to have DIY marketing clients.
Getting hacked is becoming more common because most of us are lazy with our passwords blaming it on information overload and the difficulty in remembering so many variations. However, our businesses, communication, and important documents have all mostly moved online where the threat of being hacked requires an aggressive protection strategy.
Reflecting on the features of a successful website design is often helpful in capturing broad inspiration. The following websites are not from the legal industry; however offer unique solutions worth reviewing. These websites were chosen as award-winning by other judges and I have chosen a few of my favorites that seemed most relevant to law firm websites from the following website awards: The Webby Awards, American Graphic Design Awards, and Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards.
Determining the pricing structure for your firm should be considered as a part of your marketing strategy. Your pricing strategy is not just an accounting activity, meant to balance the books but rather an opportunity to signal the quality of your work and support your firm’s branding. Price-quality signaling is an observable incident that affects consumer behavior. Whether or not your services are, in fact, higher quality does not matter necessarily, because the consumer believes the inputs to be of higher quality.
A successful website is a combination of design, execution, and achieving the objective. To review these concepts in detail with a visual example as a case study, I will review the most successful website in my portfolio in terms of traffic, design, referrals, awards, and overall achievement of its firm’s goal.
Design by committee is the leading cause of website failure. When I hear the words “we need to gather our team and get everyone’s input” I realize the project is doomed. Often my clients believe that the system they employ is helpful when it only stands to derail the whole process. If you are starting or in the midst of a website design project consider avoiding these traps that could ruin your website.
Siri is Apple’s new personal assistant and major feature of the new iPhone 4S. She (yes, I will continue to refer to her as a “she”) is already the most talked-about feature of the new phone as users begin to understand her potential.
Finding a creative website that is entirely unique and something that has never been seen before, is rare if not impossible. Typically a website will stand out from the crowd if it has a few compelling features, but upon examination they are not so much different than the less interesting sites. So how do you avoid the boring template look and achieve something interesting, creative, and memorable?
Your brand involves more than just creating a logo and it is commonly defined as your customer’s experience. A brand is what your customers think of you and a reflection of everything you do: the way you send emails, your website, your Tweets, how you describe your business, and the logo on your business cards. It’s a complex mixture of feelings and personalities that make your customers love your work.
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