Your law firm has to project professionalism, authority, and experience in order to gain the respect of colleagues and the trust of prospective clients. This has to come through in your marketing, specifically, your law firm’s website, which is often a client’s first impression of your brand. A site that highlights who you are and what you stand for is imperative, but so is having a website that is up-to-date, modern, and most importantly, provides the information your visitors need in a way that’s easy to find and easy to navigate. That’s why we’re highlighting some of the best law firm website design trends so you can stay ahead of your competition and represent your legal team with pride.
Three Features Your Legal Website Needs
We understand it’s a lot to factor into your law firm’s website, which is why we’re not only digging into the latest legal website design trends, we want to make sure you have the essential foundations down first that will offer an excellent visitor experience as well as improve your search engine optimization so your firm is easy to find in the first place.
1. Mobile-Friendly Design
The overwhelming majority of people who are searching out lawyers begin their search on a mobile device like their smartphone or tablet, so your website needs to be just as clean, easy to use, and easy to navigate on an iPhone as it is on a laptop. This includes making call-to-action buttons easy to click on with a touchscreen, ensuring images are in alignment with the layout, and that you have a responsive design that scales and adapts your site to the screen size and resolution of the website a visitor is using. This will provide a better user experience as well as better search engine ranking results.
2. User-Friendly Navigation
Can a prospective client who has never been to your website find information easily? Is it accessible, easy-to-read, and points them to where they need to go while providing them with “next steps” like filling out a contact form, scheduling a consultation, or calling your office? New visitors need to be able to quickly find information and get in touch with you, and if they can’t find it, they’ll move on to a competitor. Fortunately, with a simple, straightforward menu and clear calls to action, you can make your site user-friendly.
3. Relevant Content
Any visitor to your website should have a clear understanding of your mission, your practice areas, the clients you serve, and how to schedule a consultation with you. Any content you write should support these things, and while you may want to stand out as an expert or authority, you also want the content you write to be accessible and understandable to your visitors who are seeking your service. This means avoiding jargon-heavy content and focusing on providing clarity in your topics.
Now that you’ve got the foundation in place, let’s look at how you can use these trends in your law firm’s web design.
5 Web Design Trends for Law Firms
1. Cinemagraphs
While visiting a website may seem like a one-sided interaction, adding interactive elements can increase and improve engagement, thus providing an improved user experience. Cinemagraphs can grab attention and immerse a visitor into your site with their unique blend of still photography and video motion.
Consider the above example from maritime law firm Arnold & Itkin LLP. Their cinemagraph establishes an “out-to-sea” visualization that aligns with their practice area and brand while providing a calming experience. Visitors know they are in the right place and are more inclined to learn about the law firm and request a consultation.
2. Serif Fonts
For years, sans-serif fonts were the rule in web design to improve the readability of text, but as screen resolutions have improved, this rule has become outdated and unnecessary. Serif fonts convey a feeling of authority, professionalism, and a timeless sense of refinement, all good in a law firm. The leading serif fonts for law firm websites are:
- Montserrat
- Verdana
- Casion
- Garamond
- Freight Text
- Tiempos Text
If you do choose a serif font, preview it on a smartphone or other small screen to make sure it’s clear and easy to read. You may also find that using a serif font for large-type like your headers and subheaders while a sans-serif for general text offers the best results.
3. Videos
Videos on a website aren’t new, but the trend is definitely pointing to using them as a web design element on the more popular pages of your website. Not only does it break up the dreaded “wall of text,” it allows you to connect with prospective clients and let them get to know you in a more direct manner. Even better, with search engines showing video content in their search results, adding videos to your website can even benefit your search engine results.
4. Micro-Animation Trends for Lawyer Websites
Micro-animations are subtle animations that act as visual cues and direct a visitor around your website or draw attention to an element. For example, a “Share” button on a blog shifts into four unique social media platform icons when you click on it not only draws attention, it directs the reader to share to a specific audience.
Micro-animations are growing in popularity because they guide the user on a small screen where some key elements may otherwise go unnoticed, while also encouraging them to take action in a particular way. When using a micro-animation, these are meant to have the same impact as a heading or image, so they should be used sparingly on a page.
5. Minimalism
Minimalist web design is a look that eschews graphics, bright colors, and multiple elements in favor of a crisp, almost stark look. It’s often used to make a statement, and it’s a look that can work well for legal web design. While you may not want to need a near-empty home page, you can use white space in key areas to highlight your practice areas or create an impactful mission statement.
Learn More About Web Design for Law Firms
If you want your law firm’s website to make an impact and convert more visitors into clients, visit our legal digital marketing blog for the latest information and tips to improve the effectiveness of your website and improve visibility in your area.
About TheeDigital
TheeDigital is a web design and digital marketing agency in Raleigh that works with law firms, legal teams, and other businesses around the nation to improve visibility, increase conversions, and succeed in the online marketplace. If you’re ready to build a powerful law firm website design for your legal firm, contact TheeDigital.
