If you’re in the legal industry, you know how much competition there is. This is especially true when it comes to being found online. Amidst the increasing innovation and competition that exists, law firms and attorneys need to be able to stand out with a brand identity that’s easily identifiable online.

With creating a brand identity, law firms will want to keep a professional tone to help create authority while also connecting with clients on a personal level to elicit trust. Whatever the unique brand identity you want to put out there, you need your website to exude that from the home page to the contact us form.

Here are some of the best practices to engage in when creating websites for law firms.

1. Make Sure the Services You Offer are Very Clear

One mistake that many businesses make when creating a website is trying to be too creative, wordy or clever with their messaging. While have a good tagline is important, you want it to be immediately visible what exactly it is you do from the get-go. If you specialize in a certain practice area, make that clear as quickly as possible.

When users arrive on websites for law firms, it’s typically because they typed in a keyword phrase or question that they were hoping to find answers for. If your website doesn’t quickly answer their search query, they’ll bounce from your page and go back to the search results.

Make it a habit to clearly state what your services are on your homepage, and then lead the user to find out more information for each service by clicking through to the next page.

2. Have an Attorney Profile Front and Center

The next thing that most people look for when going to websites for law firms is an attorney profile. What experience do your attorneys bring to the table? What cases have they won that would relate to a potential customer?

It’s also a good idea to utilize client testimonials to help give credence to your legal team and build immediate trust. This can be done both on a dedicated testimonials page, but also as a module either on your home page or on an attorney profile page.

3.  Keep the Design Simple and Clean

A wordy, convoluted website is sure to make your law firm look outdated and out of touch. stick with impressive, large visuals, and use engaging messaging to lead a potential client through the website experience.