In this digital era, having an online presence is critical for any practice – whether you’re selling products or services. When people need to purchase something, the first place they go searching is the internet. This means that if your business can’t be found online, for many people it practically doesn’t exist.
The legal profession is no different. To succeed in this space, law firms have to build a good online presence to enhance their exposure and attract clients. But not all lawyers understand the important role that a website design layout plays in building their online brand. In very simple terms, layout refers to the framework or pattern that defines the structure of a website.
This pattern plays the critical role of structuring all of the information that your site presents. A website layout provides site owners as well as users with a clear navigation path as they browse through the pages.
If as an attorney you’re wondering whether your law firm’s website layout matters, here’s why it does:
1. It Keeps Users On Your Site For Longer
A site that has a good layout makes it easy for people to access information. Since users are able to locate important information easily, they tend to stay for longer than they would on a poorly designed site. Law firms especially have plenty of information which they can share on their websites.
But it’s not just about placing the information on the website. Having a layout that enhances accessibility of information for users is equally important. If your visitors encounter challenges accessing information, they’ll leave your website and shift to a competitor. The flip side is true, a well-designed layout encourages visitors to stay. The easiest way to achieve this is to hire attorney web designers, who can organize your information well and use visuals to catch users’ attention.
2. It Determines How Visitors Engage With Your Site
The layout of a website determines how people interact with a company. It also determines the number of pages your site’s visitors will open, and whether they return or not. To boost visitor engagement, law firms should ensure that their site utilizes a layout that is easy to navigate.
Your web designer should also convert your navigation elements into clickable links, to facilitate fast access to web pages. They should label the navigation tabs accurately, so that visitors have a solid idea of the information available on each page before they open it. Most importantly, they should maintain consistency in navigation tabs across all web pages, to enable visitors to find the information they need quickly.
In addition to navigation tabs, law firms can increase visitor engagement by using responsive website templates. This ensures that visitors are able to comfortably navigate the site, whether they are using desktop computers or mobile devices like tablets or smartphones.
3. It Reflects Professionalism
One of the things that clients expect from lawyers is professionalism. Before they meet you, they’ll search the internet to learn more about your firm. If they find a site which doesn’t appeal to them in terms of design, organization of content and navigation, then they’re likely to connect that to their expectation of the quality of your services. To promote a positive perception of your services in prospective clients, you’ll need to make sure that your site reflects professionalism in the way it’s organized and laid out.
4. It Boosts Your Sites’ SEO
Ranking highly on search engines takes hard work. To feature on the first page, you need to do more than add keywords in your content. The way your site is designed and laid out heavily affects your sites’ search engine rankings. The algorithms in Google and other search engines consider how your sites’ design performs on different browsers and devices in how it ranks on search results. This means that you can boost your site’s SEO by paying attention to its design and responsiveness.
Final Thoughts
Most people don’t realize the critical role that the layout of their website plays in building their business. The reality is that a website serves as the first contact most of your clients have with your law firm. As such, it shapes the way prospective and even existing customers perceive your business. When your layout is organized and professional, anyone who visits it will have a positive impression about the quality of legal services you provide. To achieve this, your law firm website should have a layout that offers seamless navigation to visitors, a high response rate and easy access on both desktops and mobile devices.