Comedian Jeff Foxworthy has a recurring line of jokes which begin, “You know you might be a redneck if…”. With all due respect to Mr. Foxworthy, and rednecks everywhere, here is our stab at “You know you might need a new website if…”
The only photographs of people on your website are of people you don’t know.
Your website is likely to be your opportunity to make a first impression on a potential client. A relationship with a lawyer is one which should be built on trust. Clients want to make a connection with their lawyer. Having photographs of the lawyers and staff are a good way to make a personal connection.
Your photograph looks like it was taken for a church pictorial directory.
Yes, those pictorial directories are handy, but that isn’t the look you want to convey through your website. A background that reflects your work or your office looks much more professional than the watercolor, pull-down background that are so very popular for portraits done in mass.
Your photograph is more than five years old.
Imagine your new client’s shock when the person he meets with looks nothing like his photo on the website. Face it, we all age. Its better for a new client to meet someone who looks familiar (that same old guy he saw on the website). When they see the real you, you don’t just look older. You look bad. Don’t make that bad impression. Update your photo.
The last blog or “news” was posted more than 90 days ago.
It’s a plus for your website to have news and blogs. This helps with Search Engine Optimization and further instills your knowledge and expertise to potential clients. But, if the news isn’t new or the blog is dated last year, it simply communicates that you don’t pay attention to details. Not something you want to convey to a potential client.
The only personal information you have is your resume.
Again, clients are looking to make a connection with you. And you should be exploring and leveraging every opportunity to make a connection with them. You want clients that you can relate to just like they want a lawyer that they can connect with. Share some personal information on your website. This makes you human. And it gives potential clients some reasons to want to spend some time with you dealing with whatever issue has caused them to need a lawyer.
It looks like hundreds of other lawyer websites.
National law firm marketing companies make their rounds periodically promising to increase website visitors with a new website. You get a form template that they sell to everyone else. They inflate your website visitors with meaningless website hits. Your clients don’t increase as a result, but you signed on to a multi-year contract and now you’re stuck with it. Find out when it ends and end it. Or read the fine print, there may be a way out. Your website should be uniquely created to market you and your individuality. It shouldn’t look like everyone else’s website. But it should be up-to-date.
It hasn’t been updated in more than a year.
Websites are visual experiences. As with most visual experiences that are designed, tastes change. This is why there is a multi-billion dollar industry selling home furnishings, paint, tile, wallpaper, large-ticket consumer items, automobiles, toothpaste and any food packaging. People like things which are new and fresh. The same is true of websites. And, further, the metrics by which websites are evaluated to decide where they should appear in response to a web-search inquiry also give precedence to websites that are new and fresh. Your website may have been state-of-the art and cutting edge a year ago. But chances are that it isn’t anymore. Update it.
It isn’t mobile optimized.
If your site doesn’t load properly on a mobile device, then you are missing business opportunities. Potential clients of every description are accessing the internet on mobile devices. If they cannot access yours that way, they will go to one that they can. Don’t miss this low-hanging fruit.
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