By Guest Blogger, Austen Lott
In 2016, it is predicted that over half of all traffic on law firm websites will come from mobile devices. And, in 2014 there were already 4.3 billion mobile users globally. If your law firm’s website is not mobile-friendly, then your law firm is missing out on a large part of the legal market.
Just look around you next time you are in public, if everyone isn’t already on their phones, they are about to be.
- What does mobile-friendly mean exactly?
At its essence, mobile-friendly means that your law firm’s website can be viewed on a mobile device in a format that is equal to the size of the devices screen.
Nowadays, most website builders have mobile-ready responsiveness built into the design of the website. If you are using WordPress, for instance, most of the themes are mobile-friendly or you can install a mobile WordPress plugin.
As long as your law firm’s website is built on a mobile-ready framework, like WordPress, Weebly, or Wix, then it is considered mobile-friendly for all intents and purposes.
- Why does a mobile-friendly law firm website matter?
Because Google cares.
As of April 21, 2015 Google includes the mobile-friendliness of law firm websites into its ranking algorithm. Meaning, that if your law firm’s website is not mobile-friendly then its Google ranking will be hurt, significantly.
It wouldn’t make sense to put all of that hard work (or money) into your law firm’s website only to lose status on Google due to a lack of mobile-friendliness.
More importantly, make your law firm website mobile-friendly because that is how it will likely be viewed by potential clients. Remember, a year from now over half of all of your website’s traffic will come from mobile devices. Are you prepared?
- How to make your mobile-friendly website work for you
First, you must realize that the screen on a mobile device is much smaller. Therefore, you can fit even less information than on your law firm’s desktop homepage. It is important to only include essential information; no blocks of text (other than blog posts).
When potential clients have initiated a mobile search for their future attorney, 88% of them take action on the first day. Most of these mobile devices have calling capabilities. They are cell phones. Therefore, it is imperative that your law firm’s phone number is prominently placed near the top of your law firm’s website.
Most mobile web browsers allow for one-touch calling on any 10-digit phone number. Make it even easier for the user by making the phone number stand out as a button that provokes a clickable response.
The same goes for all of the “calls to action” on your law firm’s website. They should be clean, clearly-clickable visual cues that provoke a response.
Also, mobile users are less forgiving than their laptop friends with 61% of users unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble with. Ensure a return visits and a good user experience by making your website easy to use on any device.
Remember, phones are not what they used to be. Potential clients are just as likely to be sitting on their couch while on their mobile device as they are to be on the go. It is important to provide a mobile-friendly law firm website that is comprehensive enough to be useful, but clean enough to be usable.
About the Author: After graduating from Marquette Law School, Austen Lott, began to look into starting his own law firm. After months of studying the practices of successful solo practitioners in the legal profession, one aspect consistently prevailed: their websites. Since then, Austen has made it his mission to improve all aspects of legal marketing online for small law firms and solo practitioners.
He is currently the CEO of Marketing Ad Litem Ltd., an online legal marketing firm. During his free time you can find him at your local film festival, wreaking havoc on his road bike, or studying legal marketing tactics–of course.
Austen can be reached via email at austen@marketingadlitem.com or through LinkedIn. Feel free to get in touch with him if you have any legal marketing questions. He is always open to help.
Comments on this entry are closed.