By results, I mean more traffic and more clients.
In general, a website that performs well needs things working together:
Say exactly what you do in the first 5 seconds. Visitors should instantly know who you are, where you are located and that you recognize what their legal problem is and offer a solution. Then prove that you are the firm to hire. Finally, motivate to take action now.
Have a simple navigation menu and footer. Keep Social Media and external links in the footer. You don’t want clients to arrive at your website only to encourage them to leave right away.
Have a banner image of you or your staff. Not stock photos or photos of abstract art, cities or country side that have nothing to do with your objective – which is to obtain clients. Stay away from stock photos that everyone is using. Make you banner personal.
Use a clear headline like:
“Criminal lawyers in Florida who can will defend you now.” Not some vague message like “We believe in honesty and integrity” which says nothing.
Don’t cram every topic into the home page. Users don’t like to scroll (especially avoid sliders) and search engines need to index your web page for one single keyword phrase. Each page should have one main topic.
Briefly mention the cities where you have offices, your practice area, and article titles with links to a page for each. And as mentioned below, if you have a lot of cities and many different practices consider separate websites for each for better SEO and user searches and experience.
Add a strong call-to-action (CTA):
“Book a Free Consultation”, “Telephone now” and put the CTA in the body of the text on every page. Not just a simple Contact US in the navigation menu. Give the potential clients a reason to contact you.
Keep the layout simple, clean, and mobile-friendly. Fancy graphics and animation that have nothing to do with your practice are just distractions.
Use easy navigation (3–5 main menu items max).
Make buttons and Calls to Actions obvious and persuasive.
Share proof: testimonials, reviews, case studies, or portfolio work.
And add an FAQ to handle objections and build credibility.
Even the best site won’t get results without visitors. Ways to drive traffic:
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Write blog posts, optimize pages for keywords people search for.
Social Media: Post articles on topics about how you solve their problems.
Email Marketing: Collect emails with a free guide/offer and nurture them.
Paid Ads: Run targeted Google/Facebook/Instagram ads if you have a budget.
Install Google Analytics or similar tools to see where people come from and what they do.
Run small experiments (change headlines, colors, CTA wording) and see what converts better.
When potential clients land on your home page, whether from a search or a referral, they usually have an immediate legal problem and they are looking for help and a solution.
Your home page needs to answer these questions immediately, not buried in a navigation menu or on other pages.
WHO ARE YOU? Don’t just have your logo and name. Clearly state that you are Criminal Defense Lawyers, or Personal Injury Lawyers.
WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED? The web is worldwide. Potential clients need to know that you are located in a city where they can visit you and where you can practice. If you have multiple offices in the same state, mention the cities. If you are in many states, consider a separate website for each state. The cost is minimal and SEO will be greatly improved.
WHAT DO YOU DO? – Clearly state what areas you practice. Not just the name but the benefirst. “We help you get what you desire from you divorce”, “We do our best to eliminate or reduce your criminal charges”, “We safeguard your assets due to bankruptcy” If you practice in many different unrelated areas don’t mention them all at once. Otherwise you will look like a “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Spend the extra money an have different websites. The extra cost is minimum as you can reuse most of the same pages just changing the home page and practice area page.
WHY SHOULD THEY HIRE YOU? Explain the steps you will take. Write articles. Have case studies and testimonials. Don’t just display award from unknown legal associations. Explain what makes you unique.
HOW DO I CONTACT YOU? After reading all you content, motivate the visitor to take action. “Telephone use Now”, “Click to get a free consultation”, “Fill out our contact form”
I am an American Top Rated Upwork Web Developer who has completed over 130 Upwork projects and who has over 20 years of experience building websites for companies like ABC TV, American Express, Microsoft MSN / Bing Translator, University of Washington, Verizon, and many more. See my portfolio at https://jgmleonard.com/lawyer/. And check out my previous Upwork projects at https://www.upwork.com/fl/josephleonard.
There are many other web developers that you might choose but I believe that I can offer you the best solution because:
I look forward to working with you.
Let’s chat.
Joe Leonard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
