A decade ago, a law firm website was a good idea, but it wasn’t a necessity like it is now. These days, the internet is used as the Yellow Pages all over the world, and your website – and the search engine optimization behind it – are your yellow pages ad. But what does it cost to create the perfect website – one that represents your firm accurately – and ensure that visitors looking for the type of law you practice, in your area, find you before any of the competition?
Developing Your Law Firm Website
You have dozens of options today when it comes to developing a website. For example. you could go with a premade template, from which there are thousands to choose from, or use a content management system like WordPress. From there you get into custom website creation on multiple levels. So, the first decision you will have to make is how much you are willing to spend on development. The best option for a website attempting to bring in traffic through keywords and content is a combination of a custom built site and a CMS for blog posts, as well as a client management system that allows clients to access their information and pay their bills online. Here is a checklist to ensure that your site is as effective as it can be.
- Your website should consistently attract new customers.
- Your website should look professional and modern without giving the impression that the firm is brand new, a balance that can be challenging to pull off.
- Your site should not only cater to new clients but also allow current clients to access their own case information.
- Your website should be branded so that it feels uniquely yours, and stand above the competition.
- Your website should make it easy for clients to find out about your areas of practice and contact your firm easily, using multiple methods.
- Your website should incorporate analytics so that you can track your visitors.
- Your website should be compatible with all manner of devices including computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Adding Up The Costs of a Lawyer Website
To create the most effective law website possible, there are several categories to calculate. Here is a list of what you’ll need to develop your attorney website.
Design: As mentioned, a good law website will need to be professionally designed by a web designer that knows how to design an attorney website. Depending upon what you want, how much time you can spend getting the best deal for the quality you desire and how large your site it, it could run $3000 to $20,000.
Pictures: You want high-quality pictures that are relevant to the content around it, not only for your readers but also for the search engines. That usually means that you have two choices: hire a professional photographer to take the perfect pictures (which means you can add actual pictures of your staff, law office and more) or browse stock photo sites for pictures that are close and pay the royalty fees. Pictures will run $500 to $5000.
Content Creation: Content is your most important asset and you’ll want a professional writer who knows how to optimize your content around your specific keywords, as well as achieve the goal of that section, whether it be to inform or call the reader to action. Content creation can run anywhere from $500 to $5000 depending upon the number of pages you want (the more pages, the more traffic generally) and what sort of quality standards you are setting.
CMS Implementation: The best way to easily post content that will bring visitors to your site is with a Content Management System. However, you want it to match the rest of your site visually and be customized to your needs, as well as be easy to use. CMS implementation will run $1500 to $5000, depending upon the CMS, and the level of expertise that you find to customize or install it.
Search Engine Optimization: An extremely important part of your website is search engine optimization, both onsite and off. This is generally an ongoing expense rather than just a one time purchase because as your competitors improve their SEO, you will have to do the same. You want an SEO solution customized to your area of practice, your local and national competitors and other factors. SEO can run anywhere from $2500 to $25,000 a month.
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