One of the most common legal website mistakes is that images do not add meaning to your content
You have to have images throughout your website. They help you get ranked by search engines. People remember more from what they see on websites than what they read. That means your clients rely on visuals to get to know you and make their decision on who to hire.
Yes, many people just look at pictures! That’s why it is most important that images add meaning to your content. They have to help your potential clients understand what your law firm is about and how it will help them should they choose to hire you.
What does this image tell your clients about your firm?
Nothing. So why do lawyers continue to prominently display a lawyer or their legal team as their header image on every page of their website?
As a potential client, I cannot discern anything from this photo about your beliefs, your approach to the law, or how you will help me achieve success. As a potential client, I am not impressed that your team wears suits…every lawyer does. I am not impressed that you have file folders…every lawyer does. I want to know that you understand what I am going through and what I legal support I need to move forward.
Of course you want to include an image of your legal team and your lawyers on the web site. Save it for the bio pages only.
Do you recognize this picture?
Probably. You likely have it or something similar to it on your own website or you have seen it on your competitors websites.
Trite imagery once again, does nothing for me as a potential client. All I know from this picture is that I have seen this 100 times before and you have a lot of books. Good for you.
Not good for me, as I don’t know anything about what I am getting from you if I choose to hire you.
What does this picture have to do with any legal practice area?
I have no idea. Maybe, just maybe, this Family Law Firm is trying to be different. Being this different is just confusing and weird and is a legal website mistake that is making your potential clients run to another firm.
When I saw the images on a legal website, all I did was click through to look at the horrible pictures. If all I’m doing on your website is critiquing the strange imagery, I am obviously not going to turn into a client.
Instead of falling victim to legal website mistakes, make sure you are using images that allow your clients to get to know you
Clients learn a lot about you from the images you put on your website. With meaningful images, you are showing your potential clients:
- how you view them and how you will treat them.
- that you are willing to fight for them.
- you care about protecting them and their future.
Simple images can tell a compelling story about your firm, about what your firm believes, and about how you will help a client achieve a promising end result. Here is an example of a website we built that uses imagery to convey important messages about the values of their firm.
Best of all, when clients feel like they know you, they develop an emotional connection and this is what gets them to click on that “contact us” button or to pick up the phone and call.
Legal website mistakes can be avoided if you consider how your potential client will respond to imagery
It is important to have images that add meaning to the content and not the same trite photos of the scales of justice and boring people in suits. You also don’t want to go so conceptual that a client walks away baffled and just thinking you’re a team of weirdos. When you change these things, your website will be much more appealing to people and website visitors are more likely to turn into clients.
As a lawyer, you suffer from the curse of knowledge. You know a lot about the law and communicate like you do. At Deviant Marketing our team of lawyers and non-lawyers can help take that legal language and turn it into something a normal person can understand. If you need help de-lawyering your website, contact us and we’ll see how we can help.