Law Firm Websites Lag: Spend More, But Think First, Experts Say

Law Practice Management

Law Firm Websites Lag: Spend More, But Think First, Experts Say

Posted Sep 2, 2008, 03:30 pm CST
By Martha Neil

Although law firms are far more focused on the Internet than they were a few years ago, experts say many still have a lot to learn about marketing themselves online, and that their websites could use improvement.

Some law firms, for instance, feature streaming video, podcasts, RSS feeds and law blogs on their websites as a matter of course. But a surprising number of major players don't, lagging considerably behind the marketing efforts of their corporate counterparts, reports the Am Law Daily.

And it's not just the medium but the message that often presents a problem:

"Most law firm sites are like law firm brochures—they're all about the law firm, they're not very client-sensitive," says Charles "Biff" Maddock of the Altman Weil legal consulting firm. "In most cases, they're pretty boring. And they really don't give you a reason to come back over and over again."

Part of the issue may be the money involved. Forget about expecting to spend a mere $50,000 to create an appealing law firm website, Jeff Yerkey, a founding partner at Charette Communication Design tells Am Law. A reasonable price range is $80,000 to $1 million, depending on the size of the firm and the scope of its marketing efforts, he says.

But Stephen Roussan, president of the Web development firm ICVM, puts the price tag at a more modest $10,000 to $200,000. He says that the first step, before spending a lot of money, should be figuring out what message the firm is trying to convey. Otherwise, the firm runs the risk of winding up with an expensive, visually impressive site that looks much like other such sites.

"The single most important exercise," he says, "is to have an introspective discussion about what your firm is about and what makes your firm different from other firms, and really present that as part of your brand."

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Posted by 2Details - 2 months, 2 weeks, 5 days, 10 hours, 6 minutes ago

IT is very custom, unique stuff.
You can be like a Microsoft with all these bells, whistles and entertainment for a one time client, or you can lead the field to other lawyers, with quiet sophistication, real world implementation quality.
Is your law firm engaged in emerging litigation like against RIAA? Then you might want to be more data centric, and helping clients cope with trends.
Is you law firm a Jonesday? Overall, a good sophisticated site, works well under Lynx, always a good sign of sophistication. Access matters, if you have to ask, you don’t understand, and maybe will with time.
This site, is missing some implementation details that REALLY matter for those who take their data and practices seriously…
Posted by Josh Silverman - 2 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes ago

For a website to have any value, potential clients must be able to find it. In our experience, nothing accomplishes that purpose more so than regularly adding content. We aim to add content multiple times a week through our blog, news stories, and updates on our practice areas.

Joshua Silverman
Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.
Richmond, Virginia
http://www.wllc.com
http://www.virginia-elder-abuse-law.com
Posted by Stephen Fairley - 2 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 20 hours, 6 minutes ago

$80,000 to $1M for a website?! Huh! Are you kidding me?

Any law firm who spends more than $50,000 for 1 single website is crazy!

There are many highly qualified website development companies that specialize in law firms who can build a fantastic website (with all the bells and whistles) for $10,000 to $25,000.

Our company, The Rainmaker Institute, has over 25 different websites we use to promote our law firm marketing business and we have sent hundreds of our clients to reputable website development companies, most of whom charge less than $20,000 for a high end, customized website.

Josh is correct, don’t spend all your hard earned money on building the website only to forget that the real ‘work’ comes on the back end—promoting it so qualified prospects find it.

If you want a referral to a reasonable website company, give me a call.

Stephen Fairley
CEO, The Rainmaker Institute, LLC
http://www.TheRainmakerInstitute.com
Posted by ileneg - 2 months, 1 week, 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes ago

Clients being able to find your site is important as is providing quality content (w/out “legal advice”). When you have worked so hard to get people to your site, don’t overlook the tremendous value of a lead capture and follow-up system!!

See if your website is making these mistakes…
ilene
http://www.websitemarketingworks.com

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