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If you’re an attorney or a law firm without a lawyer website, you’d better consider creating one. Here is why.
Why Do I Need A Lawyer Website?
First, a lawyer website allows your prospective clients to find you more easily. Even when they already know about you through referral because it is likely that they will Google you in advance.
Secondly, nowadays, many companies have established an online presence. Those without one are considered mickey mouse companies. Therefore, a lawyer website allows you to build credibility, corporate image, and brand awareness.
Thirdly, a lawyer website with the right content can keep your site at the top of search results pages i.e. higher SEO ranking on search engines like Google. Besides, you may share your posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc. This can funnel your social media visitors and followers back to your website.
Lastly, a website can tell your audience a lot of information like what you practice, lawyer biographies, and contacts. It can educate, qualify, and convert leads into clients.
What Options Are Available?
Deciding which content management system (CMS) to use to create a lawyer website is the very first and yet the most critical step. However, there are tons of options available. Below is a summary of the most popular CMS you may use to create a lawyer website.
- Hosted platforms like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and WordPress.com where you can find lawyer website templates
- Self-hosted platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal
World’s Top 100 Law Firms Use WordPress
WordPress is the world’s leading content management system (CMS) trusted by over 35% of all the website users worldwide. The following are among the largest 100 law firms in the world by revenue using WordPress to power their websites.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP was founded in 1872 and expanded both nationally and internationally to Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia with more than 1,300 lawyers worldwide.
McDermott Will & Emery has over 85 years of legal and industry experience with more than 1,100 lawyers and offices in over 20 locations on three continents.
Vinson & Elkins LLP was established in Houston in 1917 and has grown to an international law firm with about 700 lawyers in 12 offices worldwide.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was founded in 1965 and has over 200 lawyers.
Besides, many reputable law firms as follows are using WordPress. Waldon Adelman Castilla Hiestand & Prout was founded in 1984 in Atlanta, GA and has about 60 attorneys. Ogilvie, built in 1920, is a premier law firm based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In 2020, they are celebrating 100 years.
A WordPress lawyer website has the following main features.
- Simplicity
- Flexibility
- Publish with Ease
- Publishing Tools
- User Management
- Media Management
- Built-in Comments
- Fully Customizable
- Browser Compatibility
- Multilingual Blogs
- Own Your Data
What Should A Lawyer Website Have?
First, to serve the aforesaid purposes, a lawyer website should include the following pages.
- Home
- About the firm
- Attorneys with biographies
- Areas of practice
- Contact
Besides, you may consider using content to market your services. They include blog posts, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, eBooks, webinars, guides, checklists, and quizzes.
Finally, you should also ensure the following in your lawyer website.
- Good UI/UX in terms of design, colors, fonts, and navigation
- Short and concise calls-to-action that stand out with compelling words
- Website performance optimization
Conclusion – The Best Solution
Which is the best solution to create a lawyer website? If you are just starting up a single-attorney practice, you may try DIY hosted solutions like Wix. If you are looking to modernize your practice with a new website, you may want to scale up your website with customizations and add-on features using WordPress.
