law firm website design – ADA for Websites

Do you have a website for your law firm? If not, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to reach potential clients.

A website is the first place people will learn more about your firm and what you can offer them.

Did you know that 96 per cent of individuals looking for legal counsel are used search engines? You want to make sure your legal practice’s website is set up for success and ranks high in search results when potential clients are conducting online research.

So, what should you include on your website? Let’s See.

15 Important Things to Include on Your Law Firm’s Website:

Here are the 12 important things to include on your law firm’s website:

Dedicated Pages for Each Practice Area:

The first step is to set up a separate page for each practice area you want to work in. For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer, dedicate an entire page of your website to that specific practice area and include case studies and testimonials from past clients.

Staff Profiles:

Don’t just list the names of your employees under the heading “Our Team.” Add photos and give biographical information about all your employees, including legal assistants and paralegals.

Provide short bios with their specialties and qualifications so potential clients can easily identify who they’d like to speak with when requesting information or setting up an appointment.

Law Firm Blog:

By adding a blog to your law firm’s website, you can showcase your unique expertise in both its depth and breadth.

Not only will this help serve as another resource for site visitors who want more information on certain legal topics related specifically to what they are experiencing at their practice areas, but it also ranks higher.

When put into search engines like Google or Bing, blogs are indexed directly by these companies rather than having websites do so separately.

This means there’s no need to spend time advertising through other channels if we have all of our bases covered straightaway!

Create a blog to publish articles about current legal issues, updates in your practice areas, and any interesting news related to your law firm. This gives potential clients another way to connect with you outside of phone calls or consultations.

Blog-based websites have 434% more search engine-indexed pages than non-blogger websites.

Mobile-Friendly Functionality:

More than half of all internet users access the web using their mobile devices.

So, make sure your website is mobile-friendly by checking out how it looks on phones and tablets before you launch it. Also, make sure to include social media links so people can contact you through Facebook or Twitter if they prefer.

Video Testimonials:

If possible, film video testimonials from clients about the services you provided to them (and why they’re satisfied). Place these videos on individual pages dedicated to each practice area that needs more exposure because this allows consumers to see real people talking about working with your law firm in that particular field – not just words or screenshots on a page.

A Call to Action on Every Page:

A call to action is a way for site visitors to get in touch with you, whether by phone, email, or by sending an online inquiry.

The call to action button should be prominently displayed on every page of your website so potential clients can find the contact information they need quickly and easily.

Live Chat Functionality:

Let site visitors chat directly with you through the live chat function on your website! This is one of the easiest ways for people to ask questions about cases they may have or inquire about how much certain services cost – even if it’s just good old-fashioned curiosity that drives them.

SSL Security:

SSL security adds an extra layer of protection for your site visitors. It means that all information they provide to you is encrypted and secure, making it more difficult for potential legal issues and personal information to be hacked.

Law Firm Testimonials:

You should seriously consider including a testimonials page on your legal firm’s website. According to a report by Bright Local, 76 percent of customers trust internet reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends, and positive evaluations increase the likelihood of client usage by 91%.

Post testimonials from past law firm clients on your website. If you’ve received positive reviews, share them to reach out and connect with potential new clients.

Attorney Bios:

Like testimonials, attorney bios are an effective way to establish authority in your practice area.

From legal experts who co-authored publications on important issues to professionals in the private sector, bios are a great way for site visitors to learn more about who they’re communicating with and what experience they bring to the table.

Law Firm Website Disclaimers:

In general, disclaimers are a legal requirement to protect your firm from any liability. However, that doesn’t mean they need to be boring! Law firm website disclaimers can be creative and include appealing imagery or even videos that help visitors understand the types of cases you’re willing (and not willing) to take on.

Newsletters:

Newsletters are an effective way for law firms to find new clients and build relationships with existing ones.

These publications should contain industry-specific content, such as updates about recent legislation or case law changes within your state and other useful information (e.g., upcoming seminars and events). The more valuable these newsletters are, the more likely people will want to read them!

Law Firm Website Privacy Policy:

A privacy policy is required by law to ensure site visitors are protected if they submit personal or sensitive information.

These policies should include how you’ll use any data collected, whether it’s selling the information to third-party companies for marketing purposes or using it within your firm.

Also, let users know who they can contact if they have questions about their privacy.

Contact Us Page:

When people can’t find what they’re looking for on a site, they usually look under the “contact us” section (if there is one). Site visitors need clear instructions on where to go and how to get in touch with you – especially when concerning testimonials, testimonials, and attorney bios.

Cookies Consent Pop-up:

Have you ever noticed a little pop-up box on a website that asks for your permission to use “cookies?” The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, commonly known as the GDPR, is largely credited for the growing popularity of consent notifications for cookies data files sent by websites and kept on a user’s computer by their Web browser.

According to the EU’s “Cookie Law,” also known as the privacy Directive, you may not follow individuals without their consent. The Cookie Law requires publishing a Cookie Policy, consent form, and pop-up notification.

You must also describe the many sorts of Cookies you’re utilizing and give visitors a choice to accept or delete them.

Conclusion:

To make sure your website is effective, here are 12 important things you should include on it. It’s a great way to showcase your firm’s credentials, expertise, and past cases.

If you’re looking for more information or need help with any of these points, don’t hesitate to contact us! We offer comprehensive web design services that will take care of all the heavy lifting so you can focus on what matters most- providing top-quality legal advice and representation.

Almost every business needs a website, and the legal industry is no exception. But when it comes to creating a website that meets ADA compliance standards, law firms can be significantly challenged.

This blog post will outline 10 of the most common ADA compliance issues with law firm websites.

By being aware of these pitfalls, you can avoid them in your website design. Let’s get started!

10 Common ADA Compliance Issues with Law Firm Websites

Here are the ten common ADA Compliance issues with law firm websites:

Missing Alternative Text:

Alternative text allows visually impaired users to know what an image is about. This is referred to as “Alt” text because it’s meant to provide alternatives for images that can’t be seen or are hard to see.

The alt text should always describe each image in full detail on any page where there are images. For example: if your website uses a photo of a man holding up his hand with five fingers showing, you might write alt text that reads, “A man is holding up his hand with 5 fingers showing.”

Without this important alternative information, many users will have no idea what your images are about, which could lead them away from your site entirely! It’s also worth noting that search engines use alternative text for search results.

Lack of a Logical Reading Order:

One of the main guidelines for effective web design is that a page should always “flow.” The user should not get hung up on anything, especially not reading the order.

Your paragraphs of text should flow from one to the next in a logical order. The order you write them in may be different from how they’re numbered within the content, but the actual information itself must make sense when read from start to finish.

Here’s an example: “There are several common issues that many law firm websites have,” this would be a poor way to structure a paragraph because it jumps all over the place and doesn’t follow any particular pattern. Don’t put your readers through that!

Lack of a Clear CTA:

In the US, a call-to-action is a primary method used for getting people to take action on your site – whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase or simply completing contact information so you can send them more information later.

A call-to-action is how you get your readers from Point A to Point B in the most straightforward way possible. It typically involves using language like “sign up,” “shop now,” or “let us know.”

If you don’t have one of these CTAs somewhere on every single page, then it’s time to add some in! That will help direct visitors toward conversion goals and reinforce that your CTAs are always meant to take visitors further into the site.

Lack of Alternate Navigation Methods:

Many people cannot or do not use a mouse, including those with disabilities or simply aging adults. The ability to control cursor movement using only the keyboard is known as “mouse-less browsing.”

Suppose you’re not catering to these users by allowing them another method of navigating your site. In that case, they will start closing it down and looking elsewhere for information much faster than other users.

You must also make sure any page links have descriptive text instead of just words like “click here” or “here.” Rather, say things like, “Contact us now,” “Shop Now,” or whatever works best for your needs.

Icons With No Alternate Text Descriptions:

Icons can be a great way to add some visual interest to your website, but if they don’t have any alt text associated with them, it’s like leaving out half the equation.

For many visually impaired users, this means they won’t know what your icons are about – which could lead them away from your site entirely!

To get around this issue, you should always include an alternate description of what each icon is supposed to mean when you’re designing your site.

Here’s an example: “A man holding up his hand indicating that he wants to speak in front of others in a meeting” would be perfectly acceptable alt text for an icon that shows a picture of someone holding up their hand.

A Lack of Keyboard Accessible Links:

There are plenty of tools out there that can help automate the testing process for keyboard-only users, but it all starts with you making sure those links show up despite not using a mouse. Here’s how:

Anchor text – Always use descriptive anchor text like “Contact us now” instead of “click here.”
Icon alt text – You already know what we’re going to say about this one! Every single icon used on your site should have an alt tag associated with it, so someone who uses a screen reader knows what they do ahead of time.
Link order – If you’re most important pages (like product pages) aren’t accessible via keyboard, you’re going to lose out on the majority of potential traffic.

Flash Content:

Flash is like Kryptonite for search engines because it’s notoriously difficult for machines to read without human influence.

That means no matter how excellent your flash intro or movie is, maybe if it doesn’t have a transcript, then you’re losing out on valuable content that could be indexed and used in relevant searches – instead of pages that are just filled with junk text. Not cool!

Automatic Playback of Audio & Video Content:

When it comes to accessibility, auto-playing audio can get old pretty fast. Not everyone wants to hear what you have to say, so make sure you include an “off” button or another method of stopping the media from starting on its own.

No Keyboard Shortcuts or Assistive Technology Support for Site Navigation

Keyboard shortcuts are an easy way to make sure your website is accessible for users whose disabilities may prevent them from using a mouse or trackpad. These are often readily available, so always check with your web developer first if you have any technical questions about implementing them.

Non-Standard (Non-Mobile) Viewports

Law firm websites need to be responsive and viewable by mobile devices because that is where many lawyers and law firms find their clients these days – especially those who don’t live in major cities like New York, Chicago, etc.

That means you’ll want to make sure your website is viewable on any devices that you may visit at some point. That’s where things like “viewport” settings come into play.

Conclusion:

This article covered the ten most common ADA compliance issues on law firm websites. This is a crucial topic for any lawyer running an online business that may be violating one of the most important laws in America today.

Make sure you read through these 10 points and take action to make your website accessible before it’s too late!

15 Important Things to Include on Your Law Firm’s Website

10 Common ADA Compliance Issues with Law Firm Websites

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