Building your own website for your legal service?
Every now and then a potential client who’s on the fence about purchasing an attorney website design will ask, “What’s the difference between hiring you guys and just making the website myself through GoDaddy or Weebly?” It’s an excellent question. After all, with all the free alternatives and tutorials, it should be simple to make your own website.
The real question though is: Should you build your own website?
Building your own website is completely feasible, but it’s easier said than done. Keep clear of these 5 common DIY website design mistakes for your legal business.
1) Template Designs
While not all template designs are bad, the majority of the ones featured in DIY website builders are too simple. Unlike a professional attorney web design company’s templates, the templates offered by DIY websites lack focus.
They won’t appeal to your audience because these templates are trying to appeal to everyone. These templates are generic and too simplistic and anyone visiting your website will only get turned off by the design. People are more likely to lose confidence in your abilities because of poor design. The only saving grace of these template designs is the fact that they’re either free or cheap.
2) Not Mobile-Friendly
Aside from poor design options, the majority of websites provided by DIY websites are unresponsive or are not mobile-friendly. This means what works well on a desktop sometimes doesn’t work well on mobile. Your website will be inaccessible or illegible through mobile phones and tablets. Mobile searches have been a rising trend and you simply can’t afford to not have an attorney web design without responsive or mobile-friendly features.
3) No Call to Action
One of the big misconceptions of attorney web design is the thought that all you really need is an attorney website to showcase your experience and services. Speaking from experience, a number of the DIY websites we’ve encountered from clients and prospects lack a vital aspect of web design: the call to action. Most DIY websites post photos and content related to their services, but there’s no drive or sense of urgency created within the visitor. You should encourage your visitors to contact you for your services through different calls to action.
4) Cluttered Pages
Another big mistake we find within DIY websites is cluttered pages. Those unfamiliar with design make the mistake of adding image after image or content to fill up a page in an attempt to cover any and all blank spaces. This is a terrible, terrible practice! Not only is it unappealing, but visitors will also only feel intimidated or annoyed by the poor presentation of information. No one wants to see a giant wall of text. The breaks and blanks between content or images are meant to give visitors a brief reprieve from all the information.
5) Lack of SEO Optimization
Probably one of the biggest mistakes we find in prospects and clients who’ve chosen to create their own websites is the lack of optimization throughout the website. If you want to be found online, it’s important to incorporate proper search engine optimization practices. For example, title tags, h1 & h2 tags, meta-descriptions, etc. Without proper optimization, visitors will have a harder time finding your website and services.
While it’s possible to save money and build your own website, unless you’re knowledgeable in both design and SEO practices, we highly recommend hiring a professional attorney web design company to handle your needs. Sure, a DIY website may be cheaper in the short run, but in the long run, it will only hurt you. Design trends and search algorithms are always changing and if you want your website to rank well, you’ll need professional help.
We have served over 3000+ lawyers across the United States and around the world to deliver smart websites. We are passionate about helping law firms succeed online. Contact us today to see how your business can grow with Law Promo on your team. Call us at 1-866-886-0548 or fill out the project inquiry form to get started with your project.
