7 Costly Mistakes To Avoid When
Creating A Law Firm Website

MISTAKE #1: Choosing a website designer who doesn't have experience in marketing a law firm.

The most important factor in choosing someone to create your website is their knowledge, skill and experience handling law firm marketing. This includes (1) experience handling actual clients, and (2) experience created a marketing solution that works.

In most cases, the web design firm has done a couple of custom sites for local firms. They lawyers loved the sites and paid through the nose for them.

After the design firm sees how easy a site is to put up and looks at the fat check from the lawyer, they start marketing their services to other lawyers.

What you never know is, how much (or little) business those websites actually bring in to the law firm.

Make sure the website creator you select has deep experience in handling law firm marketing.


MISTAKE #2: Choosing a website designer because they have made websites for other lawyers.

Just because a designer or design firm has done a couple websites for attorneys, doesn't mean they will work.

After all, lawyers practice law, and designers make websites. Who's responsible for making sure the website actually causes people to pick up the phone to make an appointment with you?


MISTAKE #3: Choosing a website designer who promises you guaranteed 'top 10' search engine ranking.

If any SEO (search engine optimizer) or web designer or design firm tell you that they guarantee top 10 placement of your website in the search engine, they are flat out lying to you.

Yes, I've had my SEO get me MANY top 10 placements for many different key words, but the fact it, they cannot guarantee it.

Top 10 rankings vary from keyword to keyword, and state to state. Further, with the ever changing method in which search engines index and rank sites, there's not way to always know how to get the top 10 placement.

You'll hear the "guaranteers" say others can't get you a top 10 ranking because they don't know the "secrets" or have the software to get the top 10 guarantee. The funny thing is, they'll never tell you how they do it, claiming "trade secrets." More like trade lies.

Don't buy this one.

If you're guaranteed this, you're dealing with someone out to dig deep into your pocketbook.


MISTAKE #4: Creating a brochure website.

Brochure websites, as I call them, are weak and have little value.

Remember, the thing on a person's mind when they come to your website is, "what's in it for me?" If you don't have the answer to this question immediately available to them, they will leave your site as quickly as they came.

The fact is, you have to give the visitor a reason to stay at your site once they are there. Simply reading about you and the areas of law in which you practice is not of interest to a visitor.

With sophisticated websites available to surfers, they will ignore your brochure site.


MISTAKE #5: Creating a website that covers all of your practice areas.

Normally, a person looking for an attorney online doesn't have more than one legal problem at the current time for which they are seeking assistance. So, why should you explain to the visitor you handle five areas of law?

You shouldn't.

Instead, create mini-sites that cover one specific area. In marketing, we know


MISTAKE #6: Creating a website without a response mechanism.

Even the best website is worthless, if there's no call to action. Just listing your phone number is not a response mechanism. There must be a compelling reason for the visitor to call you.


MISTAKE #7: Creating a website that doesn't keep people coming back.

If your website isn't going to get people to come back to your site, there's a good chance they will never call you.

Having lots of informative content and a couple of interactive items will get people to visit your site more than once, and ever refer the site to others in the same situation.

A site that is "sticky" means you're have visitors stay longer and come back for a return visit.