INTERLEGES AGM KIEV

28.05.10

THE “ESSENTIALS” OF LAW FIRM WEBSITES

THE BARE ESSENTIALS

• THE MOST BASIC WEBSITE IS LITTLE MORE THAN AN ONLINE BROCHURE. IT HAS:

- YOUR FIRM’S NAME IN THE DOMAIN NAME.- IT IS STATIC AND SETS OUT – LIKE A MENU – WHAT THE FIRM DOES I.E.

A LIST OF SERVICES AND THE RELEVANT CONTACTS AND, IF THE FIRM HAS THOUGHT ABOUT ITS MARKETS, A LIST OF SECTORS THAT IT SERVES (AS OFTEN THE ONLY WAY TO DIFFERENTIATE A LAW FIRM IS BY ITS TRACK RECORD AND EXPERIENCE WITHIN A PARTICULAR MARKET SECTOR SUCH AS RETAIL, MUSIC, AVIATION OR BIOTECHNOLOGY).

THE AIMS

• A SIMPLE BROCHURE OR A SALES TOOL?• BEFORE DECIDING TO INVEST TIME AND EFFORT IN IMPROVING OUR

WEBSITE, WE HAVE TRIED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE AND WHAT RESULTS TO EXPECT.

• IN PARTICULAR:• WILL OUR WEBSITE DREAMS PROVIDE A SENSIBLE RETURN ON

INVESTMENT; AND• INTEGRATE WITH AND UNDERPIN OUR OTHER MARKETING AND

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.

THE CLIENT PERSPECTIVE

• WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS WANT?• UK MARKET RESEARCH INDICATES THAT WHAT CLIENTS WANT

AND USE MOST ARE:-

- CONTACT DETAILS.

- LAWYER PROFILES.

- THEY ALSO WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE FIRM IS DOING.

- FINALLY, SOME CLIENTS WISH TO SEE OTHER CLIENTS MENTIONED (WITH THE APPROPRIATE PERMISSIONS

OF COURSE) – AND WILL FIND CASE STUDIES AND TESTIMONIES/REFERENCES HELPFUL.

THE TOOL BOX

• THE CHALLENGE IS TO KEEP YOUR WEBSITE UP TO DATE AND TO AVOID IT BEING A STATIC SNAPSHOT OF YOUR FIRM A FEW YEARS BACK. TO AVOID THIS:

- YOU NEED TO GET LAWYERS ON BOARD TO CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

- GET A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) SO THAT EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO MAKE A CHANGE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY MONEY TO AN EXTERNAL WEB DESIGNER/DEVELOPER TO IMPLEMENT THE

CHANGE.

- MEASURE AND MONITOR YOUR WEB TRAFFIC. GOOGLE ANALYTICS IS FREE.

THE IMPRESSION AND IMAGES

• ANY WEBSITE NEEDS TO CONVEY THE FIRM’S BRANDING – AND AT LEAST HAVE THE SAME “LOOK AND FEEL” AS THE VISUAL IDENTITY USED ON OTHER MARKETING MATERIALS AND IN THE FIRM’S PREMISES.

• IDEALLY, IT WOULD ALSO COMMUNICATE SOME OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE FIRM – AND A GOOD WAY TO DO THIS IS THROUGH IMAGES.

• DON’T FORGET THAT THE TONE OF THE WORDS USED ON THE WEBSITE WILL ALSO HAVE A POWERFUL IMPACT ON THE IMPRESSION CREATED.

• CONSIDERATION HAS TO BE GIVEN AS TO HOW YOUR WEBSITE WILL LOOK THROUGH DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE VARIOUS BROWSERS.

NAVIGATION

• WE HAVE TRIED TO THINK ABOUT HOW PEOPLE WILL MOVE AROUND YOUR WEBSITE.

• THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO) OR HOW PEOPLE FIND YOUR SITE.

• HAVING INTERNAL LINKS (CROSS REFERENCES) TO OTHER PARTS OF YOUR SITE WILL ASSIST NAVIGATION AND ALSO HELP WITH SEO.

• THERE USED TO BE A RULE OF THUMB THAT USERS SHOULD’NT NEED MORE THAN THREE CLICKS TO GET TO ANYTHING THEY MIGHT BE SEARCHING FOR.

CONTENT

• THE GENERAL VIEW IN THE UK NOW IS THAT “CONTENT IS KING” AND THAT A SERIOUS WEBSITE WILL OFFER LOTS OF GOOD QUALITY CONTENT OFFERING USEFUL INFORMATION, RELIABLE ADVICE AND PRAGMATIC SOLUTIONS THAT ADD VALUE.

• IDEALLY, THE CONTENT WILL CHANGE FREQUENTLY:

- PERHAPS THROUGH A NEWS PAGE

- A PUBLICATIONS AREA WHERE YOU POST UP ALL YOUR BULLETINS

- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

- TOPICAL CLIENT BULLETINS OR EVEN THROUGH A BLOG (SEE BELOW).

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)

• THE PROCESS OF IMPROVING THE VOLUME OR QUALITY OF TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE.

• EVIDENCE CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE EARLIER (OR HIGHER) A WEBSITE APPEARS IN THE SEARCH RESULTS LIST, THE MORE VISITORS IT WILL RECEIVE.

• METHODS TO INCREASE PROMINENCE:

- CROSS LINKING

- ADDING RELEVANT KEY WORDS

- USE OF BLOGS AND TWITTER TO DRIVE TRAFFIC

- GOOGLE ADWORDS.

INTERACTION

• WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT IDEALLY, OUR WEBSITE SHOULD BE A PLACE WHERE WE CAN INITIATE DIALOGUE WITH POTENTIAL AND EXISTING CLIENTS AND REFERRERS AND THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER HOW TO PROMOTE INTERACTION AND DISCUSSION ON OUR SITE.

• FOR EXAMPLE:

- THE ABILITY TO JOIN MAILING LISTS OR TO POST QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.

- IF YOU HAVE A BLOG THEN YOU SHOULD ENCOURAGE AND MONITOR THE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS THAT IT

GENERATES.

- SOME LARGER FIRMS USE THEIR WEBSITE TO PROMOTE THE CREATION AND GROWTH OF AN “ON-LINE COMMUNITY”.

ADDED VALUE

• AT THE START I MENTIONED THAT THE MAJORITY OF SITES INCLUDING OUR OWN ARE LITTLE MORE THAN ON-LINE BROCHURES. INCREASINGLY, HOWEVER, LAW FIRMS IN THE UK ARE USING THEIR WEBSITE TO PROVIDE A RANGE OF SERVICES:

- FROM SIMPLE FEE CALCULATORS

- TO DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS ON COMMON LEGAL ISSUES

- TO SECURE DOCUMENT VAULTS AND TRANSACTION DEAL ROOMS AND

- TO PROVIDE SUBSCRIPTION BASED KNOWLEDGE SERVICES.

DIFFERENTIATION

• ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IS HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE YOUR FIRM – AND ITS WEBSITE – FROM COMPARABLE AND COMPETING FIRMS. THE ADVICE TO US IS THAT THE DESIGN, CONTENT, FACILITIES AND OTHER ASPECTS MENTIONED ABOVE COULD ALL BE USED TO ACHIEVE THIS.

JOHN NORTH