1.
Law Firm Web Design Basics What do I need to know about web design for my law firm? Gyi Tsakalakis @gyitsakalakis AttorneySync6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 1

2.
Who Are You? Who Are You? No really. What makes you, you? What makes you different from other lawyers? Why should someone choose you over your competition? Before you even begin to design your website, you need to have a solid understanding of what messaging you want to communicate through your website. That has to start with understanding who you are.6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 2

3.
You’re (Probably) Not Atticus FinchDon’t market yourself as the personyou’d like to be!Market yourself as the person that youare.Focus on what you can realistically dobetter than your competitors.Can you provide bettercommunication?Are you more knowledgeable about aspecific practice area?6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 3

4.
Who Are They?Who is your target audience? Who areyou trying to attract to your website?What types of things are these peoplelooking for online?What problems to do they have? Whattypes of information are they lookingfor?Again, before you start designing yourlaw firm website, you better know forwhom you are designing it.Remember, you’re not designing for you! 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 4

5.
What Are They Looking For?6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 5

6.
Sweeeeeeet EmotionWhat emotionsare you trying toevoke from yourvisitors?What colors anddesign elementsare mosteffective inevoking thesetarget emotionalresponses? 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 6

7.
Fear Lawyers = Fear Solvers How do you solve fear?6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 7

8.
Trust6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 8

9.
Do These Build Trust?6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 9

10.
What About This?6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 10

11.
Fear + Solution + Expertise + Trust Good law firm websites identify prospective clients’ fears, communicate how the lawyers are uniquely equipped to help solve these fear issues and demonstrate trust.6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 11

12.
Text ContentWriting is a skill that takes time to develop.Writing for the web is different than writing inother media.Most people have very short attention spansonline.They tend to skim text.Don’t forget about your audience and objectiveswhen writing.The text on your web pages is important, don’ttake it for granted. It’s likely to be the singlemost important factor as to whether someonefinds you, calls you and becomes a new client. 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 12

13.
No Stock Legal Web Images!6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 13

14.
It’s Time for Some ActionWhat sorts of actions do you wantyour visitors to take?Are you making it easy for them totake those actions?Think Verbs:• Download• Link to• Subscribe• Share• Comment• Call• Email6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 14

15.
Technically Speaking6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 15

16.
Domain Registration Choosing a domain for your law firm website should take into account the marketing objectives of your firm. Some of these include your brand messaging, as well as, performance in search.6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 16

17.
Hosting Like domain registration, choosing a host should take into account your firms marketing goals and budget. While there are very affordable hosting options available, economy hosting plans can limit your access to certain functions and also your site’s performance with visitors.6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 17

18.
Content Management Systems (CMS)We could debate the merits of various contentmanagement systems. But I’m going to do you afavor: just use Wordpress. By that I mean a self-hosted installation from wordpress.org (vswordpress.com).Make sure your hosting account supports Wordpressinstallations. Even better, that they support 1-clickWordpress installation scripts (like fantastico). 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 18

19.
Search Engines & The Design Process“If youre thinking about hiring an SEO, theearlier the better. A great time to hire is whenyoure considering a site redesign, or planningto launch a new site. That way, you and yourSEO can ensure that your site is designed to besearch engine-friendly from the bottom up.However, a good SEO can also help improve anexisting site.”- Google I see too many law firm websites that were designed & developed without keeping search engines in mind. Avoid costly fixes in the future by including a search engine optimization professional from the beginning of the design process. 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 19

20.
Bottom Line:Consider Search Early In the DesignProcess.ORGet Someone Who Knows SearchInvolved Early!6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 20

21.
Page LayoutWhere will “stuff” go?Plan the layout for all yourpages in advance.Photo by: http://www.xstandard.com/en/support/edit-web-pages/ 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 21

22.
Unique, Accurate Page Titles <title>This Is Your Page’s Title</title> “Titles are critical to giving users a quick insight into the content of a result and why it’s relevant to their query. Its often the primary piece of information used to decide which result to click on, so its important to use high-quality titles on your web pages.” - GooglePerform keyword research & page title mappingbefore designing your website (or at least duringthe design process).6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 22

23.
Privacy, Permalinks, SEO6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 23

24.
Putting It All TogetherOptimized titleOptimized videow/ rich snippets Calls to action Optimized images Optimized informational text 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 24

25.
Optimizedtitle withgeographic Putting It All Togethermodifiers Optimized meta descriptions for click-through and conversion • Photo of actual attorney • Publications • Press recognition • Third-Party site profile ratings • Excerpts from online publishing on other sites 6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 25

26.
Questions? I hope you found this helpful. Should you have questions, please feel free to ask in the comments on this presentation. If you’d rather talk to me personally, don’t hesitate to connect. Thanks! Gyi Tsakalakis @gyitsakalakis AttorneySync6/8/2012 AttorneySync 773-828-8878 26