You have made the big jump. You have decided to build a website.
You have also decided to hire a web designer to build and design it for you.
Smart move. Today’s technology advances and changes at a moment’s notice. It is much easier to hire someone who keeps themselves up to date with the knowledge to build and make changes to a website quickly and efficiently. You should be commended on your decision to outsource tasks others can do so you can focus on building your law practice.
But there are still some decisions that need to be made.
The importance of choosing your web designer carefully cannot be overemphasized. Too many people have paid extraordinary amounts of money for websites that did not attract the right customers or did not present the image the lawyer wanted.
Here are some guidelines to help you through the process or hiring a web designer.
Before you Begin
First, decide on the design and layout. Remember, you are not building a site for the masses. You are carefully creating a professional site for people who are looking for the services that you provide.
What do you want your site to look like? Is your content written or do you need to hire a copywriter to help you formulate the copy of the site?
Ask colleagues for referrals to find a web designer. You probably will receive helpful feedback regarding efficient web designers as well as the designers to avoid. Your goal is to find a website designer who designs webs for lawyers and their law practices.
Finding a lawyer website designer can be risky because there are many inexperienced designers on the Web. Hiring a freelancer may seem attractive because the price may be significantly cheaper. A word of caution here- you can either strike gold hiring a freelancer…or not. Many freelancers are novices starting out their business.
Before making the decision to hire someone, ask the following questions:
- Do you have a portfolio? How much experience do you have creating websites for lawyers and other professional practices?
- Do you know what the ethics rules are in my state regarding lawyer websites and advertising?
- How long does it take for you to make a change to my website?
- Depending on the type of site you want, is the web designer able to add extras such as a blog, video spot or audio script?
- Will he or she be around to help with technical problems?
- If not, can they recommend a tech person to help with follow up?
- Does the web designer know how to place Meta tags and key words to attract search engines?
- Do you have a logo already? Are you expecting the designer to create a logo for you? Are they experienced at logo design and the concept of branding?
Great! You found someone to put the site together for you! Now, before you let go of the reigns, be careful to be specific with expectations and
- What are all the costs associated with working with the designer?
- How long will it take?
- Will he/she do make changes if you are not happy with the final product?
- Do you have at least 3 references of like area of practice?
Hiring a web designer to put an online face to your presence is a big deal. They are creating the visual “first impression” for your customers. However, when you do your research and hire a web designer who is familiar and comfortable with developing professional web you can have peace of mind that they will create a site that will help create a professional image of the services you provide.
While this article may give the appearance that finding a good web designer is easy, it may be more challenging than you expect.
One recent client of our said, “I made a few blunders starting out and paid a mint of money for a web site that I ended up shutting down and now I am having to start from scratch all over again.”
We hear from attorneys all the time who state, “I made the mistake of thinking the designer could create a site that I told him about even though his portfolio did not have any web sites that I liked or emulated my business.”
Unfortunately that happens all too often.
When developing Lawyer Success, I wanted to save others the frustration I had experienced by collecting a team that could comprehensively create an entire website especially for lawyers.
At LawyerSuccess.com we specialize in doing everything from building a site, writing the content and attracting customers to your site.
We would be privileged to help you with your site.
For a free consultation concerning hiring a web designer call us today at (769) 218-6099.
At Lawyer Success, “Your Success is Our Business.” Each new client is treated as if they were our only client and we understand that your success with our services is our responsibility and is critical to a long term client for our company. Lawyer Success, Inc. was founded by law firm marketing expert James Greenier. Over the past 11 years, Mr. Greenier has personally worked on, developed or consulted with 7 of the top 10 most trafficked legal websites on the Internet. He also served as the primary web marketing advisor for over 3,500 law firms. He will be your primary contact at all times and will develop the strategy for for your project. He will also personally supervise and participate in your project to ensure that you receive the highest level of service, support and performance. For a free consultation concerning hiring a web designer call us today at (769) 218-6099.
Tags: Finding the Right Designer for Your Lawyer Website, lawyer website
