This article is a part of our Practice Tips Series: A Practice Resource for Solo and Small Practice Attorneys

A law firm's website plays a critical role in shaping your online presence and making a powerful first impression on potential new clients. For many solo and small practice lawyers, a $10,000 website is simply too much money. Creating a website from scratch might sound daunting, but it may be the best option if you're just getting your practice off the ground.

Want to know how to create a high-quality, professional website for your law firm without having to hire a professional web developer? We have you covered. We'll walk you through how to create a user-friendly, visually appealing, and functional website to attract and convert clients - all while aligning with best practices in law firm marketing and digital marketing.

Why Your Law Firm's Website Matters

Your website is more than a digital business card. It's often the first place people visit to determine whether you're the right attorney to trust with their family law, personal injury or criminal defense case. A well-designed homepage helps build trust, guides visitors to your call-to-action (CTA), and converts visitors into new clients.

Modern law firm web design must prioritize both aesthetics and functionality while offering a seamless user experience across mobile devices and desktops.

Things You Need On Your Law Website

Every successful law firm website should include several must-have features to ensure compliance and maximize client conversion. First, secure a domain name that clearly reflects your firm's identity. Make sure your phone number and contact information are easily visible on every page to encourage potential clients to reach out. Where appropriate, offer a free consultation and ensure that each page features a clear and prominent call-to-action (CTA) guiding visitors toward the next step.

Your homepage should be well-organized, providing a strong introduction to your firm and the services you offer. Create dedicated pages for your practice areas, such as family law, personal injury or criminal defense, so clients can easily understand how you can help them. To further build trust, include client testimonials and case studies that demonstrate your expertise and success.

A simple, accessible contact form will encourage prospective clients to submit their information and inquiries. Additionally, ensure your website contains necessary disclaimers and privacy policies to comply with legal regulations. Finally, prioritize a mobile-friendly, responsive design and integrate reliable SEO tools to help improve your website's visibility and attract more visitors through search engines.

Things You May Want for Your Law Website

While not strictly necessary, there are several optional features that can enhance engagement and help elevate your law firm's website. Adding a live chat feature allows for quick and direct interaction with potential clients, providing immediate answers to their questions. Integration with social media platforms can help extend your online reach and make it easier to share updates and content across multiple channels. Maintaining a blog is another valuable tool for law firm marketing and establishing thought leadership within your practice area.

For ease of use, consider selecting a website builder with drag-and-drop design features, which allow you to make updates without needing technical expertise. Incorporating built-in analytics tools will enable you to monitor your website's online presence, track visitor behavior, and make informed decisions about future updates. Finally, adding appointment booking tools can streamline the client intake process, making it easier for potential clients to schedule consultations directly through your website.

Estimating Your Budget

Building a website on your own will certainly be more affordable than hiring a full-service design agency, but there are still important costs to plan for. As you prepare your website budget, consider expenses such as your domain name registration, web hosting service fees, and the purchase of a website theme or template if you choose a premium design. Additionally, you may need to invest in SEO tools, security features like an SSL certificate, and any plug-ins or integrated applications that enhance your website's functionality.

Some website builders offer bundled services that include hosting, templates, and basic tools for a monthly or annual fee, while others may require you to purchase these elements separately. Be sure to research these options to avoid surprises.

In addition to these basic startup costs, also consider whether you will need to pay one of your staff members to manage the website on an ongoing basis. Maintenance tasks might include updating content, monitoring performance, ensuring security updates are applied, and optimizing your pages for search engines. These ongoing responsibilities, whether handled in-house or outsourced, should be factored into your overall law firm marketing budget to ensure your website remains effective and up-to-date.

Choosing the Right Tools

Websites need a server to exist on the internet. A server is a software that accepts requests from browsers to send the browser a copy of the website. Most people don't have their own server, so they use what's called a web hosting service.

A web hosting service allows the person building the website to host their website on the host's server in exchange for a monthly or yearly fee. In the world of website design, paying for your "spot" on a server is often compared to renting a piece of real estate...virtual real estate, that is.

Web Hosting and Builders

A reputable web hosting service is essential for keeping your site secure and reliable. Many hosting services offer packages tailored for the legal industry, including small businesses and law firms. When choosing, consider options like Kinsta, GoDaddy, or WP Engine.

For DIY builders, popular choices include:

• Wix: Excellent for beginners
• Squarespace: Best for visually appealing layouts
• WordPress.com: Unmatched flexibility and scalability
• Weebly: Good for simple user-friendly designs

Selecting a Theme

Today, all website builders have website themes that you can choose from. Themes are customizable website templates. Although they're often free, most premium themes won't be.

For example, many WordPress themes are either free or somewhere around $40 to $70. Premium themes typically have more capabilities and better design elements. Other website builders charge a yearly subscription fee for advanced themes.

Make Sure Your Theme is Mobile-Friendly

As we already mentioned in this article: make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Mobile-friendly websites are responsive websites that adjust to the screen size of a smartphone. You can test how mobile-friendly your website is using Google's mobile-friendly test.

Choose a Theme That Includes The Features You Need

Themes have different features depending on who they were designed for. There are themes created for artists, online stores, coffee shops, restaurants, accountants, and others. As a lawyer, you'll want to find a theme that is either designed specifically for legal practice or for a professional service provider.

Also, make sure the website has features like a blog and contact forms. If you want to accept payment directly through your website, consider the theme's integration capabilities and security.

Your theme will likely provide you with templates for some of your most common pages, such as your landing page and your services page. The first pages you'll want to build include:

Be sure to create these pages before publishing your website. Once you've completed your initial website pages, test your contact form and have colleagues browse your website while it is still password protected. Colleagues can check for typos and give you feedback from a user perspective.

Step by Step Tips for Building Your First Website Pages

Follow the tips below to get the most out of your web pages:

After you've published your website you'll want to track your website's performance. Website performance involves measuring how fast your website loads you're website's health, how many visitors you get every month, how long they stay on your website, whether they engage with your content, among other factors.

There are many ways of tracking website performance. First, you can track your website's traffic and user behavior using Google Analytics, by downloading software, or by integrating Google Analytics with an app or plug-in from your website builder.

If you want to track how you're ranking on Google, you may want to invest in an SEO tool, like SEMRush or Moz. These software tools track how your website is ranking on Google and other browsers. They can also help you choose what to write about, manage your pay-per-click marketing, and track your social media.

1. Make a List of Needs and Wants

• Contact information. Under ABA Model Rule 7.2, all lawyers and law firms must provide their contact information on any communication about their legal services. This requirement extends to attorney websites. Contact information should generally be included in the website's footer.

• Contact Form. Contact forms allow website visitors to submit their contact information and an inquiry. Contact forms increase engagement and lead conversions.

• Website Disclaimer. For attorneys, a website disclaimer informs the website visitor that the website's contents are for information purposes only. If you need an example, check out DLA Piper's website disclaimer.

• Mobile-Friendly Website Theme. Today, the majority of Google searches come from cell phones, not desktops. Because mobile-friendliness has become so important, Google considers how mobile-friendly a website is when determining Google rankings. So, to attract new visitors to your site, you'll need it to make sure the theme you choose is mobile-friendly.

• Cookies Notice. Cookies notices inform website users that your website collects information in cookies. Notices will also allow the user to provide consent and make choices for which types of cookies your website is allowed to collect.

• Blog. Blogs are special pages that allow you to create articles and post them onto your website. Blogs are key to sustainable lawyer marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.

• Social Media Integration. If you're marketing your legal services through social media, you may want to select a website theme that integrates with your social media accounts so that you can post directly to your accounts from your website. This can also be done using apps.

• Live Chat Feature. Live chats allow website visitors to ask questions and receive answers live. If you're considering using a live chat feature, consult your state's rules of professional responsibility.

• Drag-and-Drop Design Capabilities. Some website builders have added the "drag-and-drop" building capability, which allows you to drag and drop new elements - like a text box or image - into the website. This capability allows for much more customization, but it can also make building and maintaining a website more labor-intensive.

• Built-in SEO Tools. SEO tools track website performance. They can measure how optimized your content is, how many visitors you have, how long they spend on each page, how high your website ranks for certain keywords, etc.

• the rights to your website domain
• hosting
• SSL certificate
• access to your website builder
• website theme or template
• SEO marketing tools
• plug-ins or integrated applications

2. Choose a Web Hosting Service and Website Builder

• Choose a hosting service that works well with the website builder you choose. In some cases, a web host will give you a discount if you use a particular website builder.

• Consider using a web hosting service that is also a website builder.

• Always prioritize security. Choose a website host that is safe and secure.

• Review the host's payment and upgrade policies. You want to be sure you will be able to upgrade your hosting if your needs change down the road.

• Choose a website builder that fits your needs, your skill level, and the amount of time you have to put towards your website.

• Research each website builder's pricing packages. You may get more bang for your buck with a particular builder, or you may not need all the features that a particular builder is offering.

• Browse the website builder's templates. This might help you get an idea of what your website will be able to do.

• Wix: Best for beginners.
• WordPress.com: Most capabilities.
• Squarespace: Best for creative online stores.
• Weebly: Great e-commerce capabilities.
• GoDaddy: Fast builder with solid basics.

3. Choose a Theme

4. Choose Pages to Build

• Homepage / Landing page

• About page

• Services or Practice Areas page

• Testimonials / Client Testimonials

• Contact page

• User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookies Policy

• Sitemap

5. Ensure each page:

• Has 650-750 words

• Features clear headings and subheadings

• Incorporates at least one image with alt-text

• Includes internal links

• Offers a clear CTA

• Is optimized for local SEO if you serve a specific geographic area

6. Track Your Website's Progress

Final Thoughts: Invest in Your Online Presence

A professional website doesn't just help you meet compliance standards - it strengthens your online presence, improves your first impression, and builds credibility with new clients. From showcasing case studies and testimonials to highlighting your free consultation offers, your website is an essential tool for growth whether an independent legal professional or a major law firm.

For more resources on law firm marketing, law firm web design, and growing your practice, explore NBI's law practice management catalog to start learning today!