Form, function, freshness: law firms and website design

A website is the face of a law firm. Long before many clients engage with their lawyer or firm of choice, they are researching, comparing, and contrasting their options with the available resources. Typically, that means a website, social media, and word-of-mouth referrals. When a client is weighing up the pros and cons of engaging one firm over another, referral or otherwise, it isn’t just the information on a website itself, but how it is presented that dictates their next step.

The first port of call

According to the annual survey by US-based iLawyer Marketing in 2024, the vast majority of people in their survey resorted to Google to search for a lawyer (92 per cent). Of those people, nearly all said they chose the top search result rather than scrolling through a list. The survey also revealed some vital information for firms in regard to what information a firm ought to prioritise on their website. Attracting viewers is the first step, but converting someone to a client requires substance and user-friendly design that works across laptop, tablet, or phone.

The survey also found that people primarily wanted to call a firm with enquiries, rather than a generic contact form (41 per cent of respondents). While providing a phone number in addition to a contact form is more time consuming for receptionists, this might warrant an answering service where phone enquiries are high and there’s scope to take on new clients. Alternatively, people are also enthusiastic about live chats with a human respondent rather than the popular chatbots. For firms that can justify the resources, this might also prove an ideal avenue to attract new clients.

While firms usually focus their marketing strategy on attracting clients or extending the scope and spend of existing clients, there are also benefits to considering other ways the website can attract attention and engagement. For sites that provide news, thought leadership articles, or blog posts, it’s likely that members of the media will subscribe for expert information and to follow up with the firm for comment and insight into topical issues. The website may also function as a career portal for job seekers, or a source for referrers to share the firm in general, or specific lawyers.

Form and function are fundamental

Nearly everyone knows that familiar frustration of loading a website, only to find broken links, pretty pictures with no menu to navigate, no contact details, and seemingly endless pop-ups or irrelevant ads. Often, websites that offer the perfect combination of form and function serve their purpose so well, that the design quietly goes unacknowledged. Regularly updating a website to ensure staff profiles are current, including photos and job titles, indicates an attention to detail that reflects on the firm. According to the iLawyer survey, nearly half of respondents (44.3 per cent) said an old, out-of-date website would raise their doubts about the firm’s quality and capacity to use technology.

Importantly, usability must extend to all users. Hearing and vision-impaired visitors to the site ought to be able to navigate the site through the use alt text, screen reader compatibility, and keyboard navigation.  There may also be clear options for language translation, searching the site, or magnifying the text.

To best illustrate and explain design features that excel in both functionality and form, LSJ chose some examples of website design that are user-centric and easily navigable.

Understanding the assignment

Perhaps predictably for a firm that is by and for creative professionals, Studio Legal offers a contemporary, clean website with minimal, but playful, animations and imagery. The homepage invites users to click through to find further information, rather than allowing scrolling and discovery. For those who know what specific information they’re after, or have a defined purpose, the site is ideal. For those seeking more general information about the firm, it requires a bit more hunting and gathering. There are buttons to click through to call the Melbourne or Sydney offices, email, or fill out an online form. Links to their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn) are located at the bottom right of the page, so that users are encouraged to first make an enquiry or open the menu before seeking social media engagement. The “Our Team” page offers clean, close-cropped profiles, two paragraphs of background, and an email contact for that staff member.

Jennifer Tutty, founder and principal of Studio Legal, says their site was outsourced, but she had definite ideas about what it should look like and how it should function.

She tells LSJ Online, “We referenced creative agency websites in the concept stage, rather than law firm websites. Our priorities were: beautiful copy, high-quality profile photos, and easy navigation. We get so many comments from our clients about choosing us because our website speaks to them, so that’s great feedback and exactly what we set out to achieve with our design.”

Tutty explains their firm works with a Melbourne-based studio for web design and development, but Studio Legal writes its own copy. “I went to [the agency] with a brief of what I wanted the website to look like, and the vibe we wanted to portray as a law firm comprised of creatives for creatives, and they brought it to life. It was a collaborative effort and we’re really proud of the end result.”

She says, “We’re a law firm for creatives, so we wanted to do something completely different to other law firms [by opting for] a warm colour palette and shape patterns that we had in our old website. The [designers] introduced artistry into the website via the really cool shape animations and came up with a sophisticated dusty pink, wine, taupe and yellow colour palette which we love.”

It turns out, clients love it too.

Tutty says, “Currently, the majority of new enquiries come through our website via organic search.  A lot of people land on our website via our informative blogs.  I have a special interest in SEO, and an account with [website analytics firm] Semrush, so I can monitor that daily to avoid expensive agency fees.”  

Sydney’s Bartier Perry Lawyers embrace another design approach entirely, taking cues from news sites. The homepage offers a shifting menu of recent news items that enable people to click through to a blog post or firm update. This includes recent awards, new team members, or a timely event.

Chief Marketing Officer Adam Hall explains to LSJ Online that the firm engaged a branding professional in 2017 to reposition the firm, and part of that process involved a redesign of the website. They work with an external website developer to keep the content fresh, and the stream of new articles and blog posts are part of staff’s performance reviews.

“Articles and really fresh content are definitely the biggest number of hits,” he explains. The team work with the template devised nearly a decade ago, but Hall says the firm is “at the beginning of the journey of content lead generation”: deciphering who is accessing specific parts of the site, whether they spend long on the site, and whether they ultimately reach out to the firm and employ their services.

The menu is horizontal text at the top left of the homepage. The titles are straightforward and predictable in their order, from “about us” through to “contact us”. A scroll down the page, or direct click to “insights”, leads to recent news features (updated near-daily). At the bottom of the homepage, text and logo links are provided to phone, email, and social media channels. The combination of image and text for menu items is ideal for those who are using small or dark screens that don’t optimise text. Enhancing usability is one of a number of priorities, says Hall.

“Our website developer is looking at SEO, security and accessibility as part of an upgrade we’re currently undertaking. We’re also looking to provide more online services to clients, such as startup businesses who might benefit from templates for basic contracts.”

Their existing clients engage with the website to keep up to date with news and informative articles on developments in the law, Hall explains.

“We encourage senior level staff to engage on LinkedIn and other types of social media in terms of keeping our clients up to date with content. We have just done a fairly extensive client survey where they tell us that they’re very happy with the amount of content that we are producing. We are also building a video library of things like training and development, CPD [continuing professional development]. We offer direct access to clients via links, so that’s not available [evidently] from the website.”

The website is also an employment tool.

Hall explains, “We definitely see our website and socials as excellent sources of both direct recruitment and reinforcement of our brand, culture, and what it’s like to work at Bartier Perry.”

Key questions to ask when designing your website

• What is the purpose of having an online visibility?

• Who do we want to appeal to, and what information would benefit them?

• Should we allocate budget to hire an in-house designer and copywriter, or do we outsource this?

• What elements do we need to regularly update, and do we have the resources to do that? (i.e. blogs, news and updates, staff profiles, social media posts, live chat)

• What sort of design elements reflect the size, nature, and attitude of our firm? (i.e. animations, pastel shades, photography, video, playful fonts or minimal elements?)

• How often will we review the website, undertake user testing (formal or informal), and commit to refreshing the design and content?

• Is the website compatible across computer, tablet, iPhone and Android?