In order for any law firm to get their name out to the public, and reach the widest possible audience, they need to have a solid presence on the internet. To gain a foothold on the internet, they need to have a great website. A great website is not just an attractive one, though that certainly helps; it is one that attracts as many new clients as possible.
The features that attract new clients are called conversion factors, and any company that is great at law firm website development will make sure that those factors are present on their customer’s website. Those conversion factors can help to make the website of any law office more inviting and more accessible—two features that help to attract, and keep, new clients. So, if you want your law firm to have a constant influx of new clients, you need to make certain that the company in charge of your law firm web design has these conversion factors present and accounted for.
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1. Mobile Responsiveness and Mobile Speed
Since nearly everyone has a smartphone and since everyone who has a smartphone uses it to go online, it is vitally important that any company with a website has that website optimized for mobile devices. This is called mobile responsiveness and there are a few features that can make a website more mobile-friendly.
- No Horizontal Scrolling – Everyone hates this since it feels unnatural because of the way cellphones are oriented. Any mobile responsive site should only feature vertical scrolling.
- Clear Text That Doesn’t Require Zooming In – This feature is obvious because pausing to manipulate the screen is inconvenient and annoying.
- Enough Space Between Tap Icons – Accidentally tapping the wrong icon, and having to return to the previous page, is an experience that will cause most users to leave a website and never go back.
A responsive web design doesn’t mean creating separate versions of one site, it means that one site can adapt to different screen sizes. You should make sure that your law firm’s website development includes accessibility on all devices and loads quickly on all devices.
2. Website Speed
How fast a site loads is a major factor in the Google ranking of that site. That is because most users are unwilling to wait around for a website that loads slowly. In fact most people will not even wait three seconds for a site to load, so it is necessary for your law firm’s website to load as quickly as possible. A fast website provides a great user experience and a great user experience can lead to more conversions.
3. Phone Number Placement
One element of good web design for businesses is the placement of call to action (CTA) prompts. Anything that encourages the user to take some form of activity is a CTA and a phone number is an important one. That is because it immediately makes it clear to the visitor that they can contact you directly if they need to do so. Even if the visitor does not intend to call you, the awareness that they could if they want to is reassuring, which helps to build trust, which, in turn, helps to foster conversions.
4. Form Placement
The form is the place where the user enters their personal information and making this form easy to find is one of the tenets of good web design. If a visitor wants to access your services, then it should be easy for them to do so. Otherwise, they may get discouraged and decide to go elsewhere for their legal advice.
5. Social Proof
Any law website can look professional, but in order to show that you are professional, you need social proof. Badges showing your accreditation and awards are ways to show that you are legitimate, which helps to build trust between your firm and the visitor. Testimonials from former clients also help to increase your credibility. All forms of social proof should be prominently displayed on your website in order to establish confidence in the visitor as quickly as possible.
More Conversion Factors = More Clients
The best way to turn a visitor to your website into a client is through the judicious use of all these conversion factors. Conversion factors are important in lawyer marketing because they help to build a bridge between the law firm and visitors to their website. It is clear that the most important factors are accessibility, convenience, and trust; once you have established all three, then tentative visitors are far more likely to become future clients.
