Law firms and other businesses are accustomed to having to redesign their websites. As the needs and behaviors of online users change, so do the ways in which your website reaches and engages with your target audiences.
But a complete design overhaul may not be the best way to improve your site’s marketing returns. In many cases, there are parts of your existing website that are working well and shouldn’t be changed.
The best parts of your current website can be used in the redesign process if you know what to look for. The following will help you get your next website right so that you continue to implement the things that work and eliminate those that don’t.
Why Create a New Website?
The first step to creating a successful website redesign is to understand why you’re creating a new website in the first place.
Many law firms are looking for better results from their websites, and a redesign can help them achieve their goals more efficiently.
In other cases, law firms need a website design that aligns with new business goals. Your marketing strategies must respond to the ongoing changes that occur in your market.
Law firms should consider their current website’s copy, layout, and other elements whenever new marketing goals are put in place.
Your firm must consider the websites of your competitors as well. Staying ahead of the competition requires design changes that offer the interactive content and features that online users expect.
Using Your Site’s Navigation
Logos, color schemes, and other design elements may come and go. But your site’s navigation may need to remain in place when designing your next website.
Intuitive navigation that guides users through your site’s content is essential to its performance. Any disruption to a well-designed navigation structure causes friction in your sales process, reduces conversions, and impacts other key performance indicators.
Evaluate your current website’s navigation as if you were a first-time visitor. This helps you identify anything that can be improved upon, left alone, or streamlined.
Website Copy That Works
Your law firm may have the urge to rewrite your website’s home, about, or services pages. But before you make these changes, analyze how well your website copy is meeting the needs of users.
Many firms take clear and compelling content and make it less effective simply for the sake of writing something new.
Headlines, calls-to-action (CTA), and other copywriting elements are critical to your site’s performance. Your copy should reflect your brand voice, mission, and the needs of your target audience. Changes in copy can impact how users perceive your message.
Using your existing copy on your new website can give your audience a feeling of consistency despite any design changes. They’ll recognize that you’re still the same brand, but with a slightly different look or feel.
Law firms must optimize their website’s copy over time. Testing different headlines, taglines, keywords, and calls-to-action helps you identify the copy that works so that you can include it in your next website.
A website redesign requires new ideas, tools, and strategies that help you provide greater value to your clients while supporting your business goals.
But you can take the best parts of your current site and use them to direct the decisions you make in the redesign process.
Consider what parts of your existing website should stay and which ones should go. Let us know how your website is (or isn’t) working for you in the comments below.
We’ll help you identify the key elements that will achieve a website design that meets your business goals, grows your brand’s visibility, and increases your law firm’s revenue.
