4 Ways Your Law Firm’s Homepage May Be Driving Away Potential Clients - Heying
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December 6, 2017

4 Ways Your Law Firm’s Homepage May Be Driving Away Potential Clients

 

Your law firm website homepage is the first impression a potential client gets. A well-designed and informative homepage can motivate to explore and get to know your law firm. But a poorly designed homepage can drive visitors away before they’ve had a chance to engage with the rest of your website.

There are many problems that a homepage may have, but below are what we believe to be four of the most prominent problems that can drive potential clients away.

  1. Potential clients can’t tell how your law firm can help them

Website visitors have short attention spans. Your potential clients want to know whether you are the right attorney to help them with their case or matter. And they want to know that quickly.

When they visit your homepage, it should be easy for a potential client to quickly see what type(s) of law you practice, the geographic area you practice in and what kind of clients you serve.

  1. Your homepage doesn’t give potential clients a reason to stay on your law firm website

Your law firm website homepage should encourage potential clients to engage with your law firm. If there isn’t a reason to engage further or it is hard for them to do so, potential clients may not have a strong incentive to stay on your website.

Here are some reasons a potential client may choose to leave your homepage, rather than exploring your website or contacting your firm:

  • Confusing navigation. Your site’s navigation should make it easy for potential clients to learn about your law firm and to find answers to their questions.
  • Your site is hard to use on mobile devices. It is likely that a sizable percentage of your potential clients will use a mobile device to visit your law firm website. It’s important that your site is easy to use on desktop computers and laptops, as well as mobile devices.
  • They can’t see how to contact your firm. An effective law firm homepage lets potential clients easily see whether you are likely to be able to help them with their case or matter. Don’t make them hunt for your contact information. Display your contact information prominently in your site header and footer.
  1. Your law firm website homepage is overwhelming

Homepage design can unintentionally drive potential clients away. If your homepage includes a lot of flashy visual elements–such as multiple sliders, video backgrounds, pop-ups and other moving components–this can distract and overwhelm website visitors.

A good law firm website helps you communicate and connect with your potential clients. Too much visual “noise” can be distracting for your potential clients, and it can prevent you from connecting with them.

  1. You’re sending potential clients away from your law firm’s homepage to other sites

Online ratings and reviews can contribute to building potential clients’ trust and encourage them to choose your law firm over a competitor. However, you should consider whether you want to drive traffic to external review sites from your homepage.

On your law firm’s website, you can control what potential clients see. You control your messaging. However, on other websites, such as third-party review sites, you no longer control what a potential client sees or doesn’t see. If someone clicks that link to your Avvo profile (or another directory or review site), you’re sending a captive audience away from your homepage, where you control the messaging about your firm.

On another website, they may be exposed to positive reviews about your law firm. But they might also be exposed to negative reviews, as well as information and/or advertisements about your competitors.