By Micah Buchdahl, Esq.
As seen in Lawyers Weekly
If you are just getting around to developing your practice’s first web site, welcome to 1998! Actually, it is never too late to get started. A solid and professional web presence is as expected as having a fax machine, or a telephone for that matter. It does not involve rocket science, just a few hours and a few bucks. Here are some (subjective!) steps and considerations to help get you on your way.
1. Register a domain name.
If you have not yet registered a domain name, it is a good place to start. More choices in domain names, registering agents and costs are available today, but the same rules of thumb still apply.
Having a unique domain name to call your own is critical. Make sure you “own” your domain name, as opposed to sharing someone else’s (i.e. johndoe.notyourdomainname.com). You should not be paying more than $20 annually for each domain name, and can often find options as low as $9.
Other considerations:
2. Determining a budget.
Now that you have put a domain name aside, it is time to figure out how much you want to spend on the project. The size of the firm is not a determining factor in how much you spend. I have worked with solos that spend tens of thousands, and large firms that spend tens of hundreds. It depends more on the type of practice, the type of clients you seek, and the amount of time you want to dedicate to the ongoing project. I say “ongoing” because a web site is never “complete”, but should always be a work in progress.
It is generally much more cost-effective, for a small firm to make a big splash on the World Wide Web, where other mediums like advertising, brochures, and seminars can run up tens of thousands to do right. Upkeep on a “virtual office” is much less than furnishing your working quarters, too.
Where does the money go?
Be sure to keep in mind that you should have a budget for first-year development, plus ongoing costs. Many firms fail to take into account that there will be a necessity for additional design, content and search engine optimization work after your first site is released on the web. A site without a long-range plan for success is probably just an on-line brochure, which you end up re-creating and paying for from scratch each time you want a new one.
The most substantial start-up costs are generally the design and development. A template design, where you simply pick from a pre-selected list of colors and looks can be as little as a few hundred dollars. A little more for inclusion of some clip-art. A few thousand for a custom look. In the $10k-plus range for hiring true, unique web design.
Hosting fees range from a few dollars per month to a few hundred dollars. For my sites, I pay less than eight dollars a month with a company called www.livingdot.com. There are many good providers. Keep in mind that you need to have your site hosted on a server that you know is secure, maintained 24x7, and with a company you trust will be around tomorrow. Many people have been burned by having sites hosted where a company simply goes out of business overnight, leaving you without a host, and sometimes access to your site and files.
Search Engine Optimization is another cost-factor to keep in mind. You have probably received e-mails offering registration with a trillion search engines for $9.99. Rest assured, you will get what you pay for. Major e-commerce companies sometimes pay tens of thousands PER MONTH for this service. You need a site that is well optimized, with re-registration, proper hand registration for major sites (that do not accept submissions from automated software, or spammers), and most likely includes paid registration with major traffic players such as Looksmart and Yahoo. Pick an SEO professional. You do not want a company that provides this service for thousands of subscribers. Your SEO will end up cookie-cutter in nature.
The marketing of the site might include purchasing keywords from a search engine, banner advertising from appropriate legal, consumer or corporate-oriented sites, or paid directory listings from highly trafficked venues. The only must-have in the online legal world is to be included with Martindale-Hubbell (through www.martindale.com and www.lawyers.com). Often more beneficial, for firms targeting consumers, is to look for high visibility sites in your community. There is no proper dollar amount for marketing of a site, but one mistake I’ve seen some practitioners make is to pour lots of cash into marketing, and a little into the site development. That does not make sense. You want to make sure that if you are going to put forth a great effort to bring someone to your site, that they are impressed with the site’s credentials, content and look (in that order). Why would you pay $2,000 for a web site, and back it up with $8,000 in marketing. Turn that number around. In the long term, the stronger sites will provide you with the best results.
Whether you are selecting a host, designer, developer, etc.—it is important to make sure that you are using people and companies you can trust. There are plenty of scam-artists out there.
3. Determining your audience (your “end-user”)
First, determine whether your expected site visitor will be a consumer or a corporate-type client.
Consumer
Corporate
What end-users should you be targeting?
4. Selecting a Feature-Set
Many sites developed today now use database-driven technologies rather than develop sites using static HTML pages. I recommend db-driven sites to most, as it allows for the quickest and easiest ability to update and maintain. On my personal site, it takes me about two minutes to update or add content, without the need of contacting any developers or third parties for assistance. The easier the updating, the more likely you will do it more often. The cost of db-driven sites have plummeted in the last few years. The additional of web blogs has made it even less expensive and easier to operate.
Often, firms suggesting they picked a developer or site because they did not want “another law firm web site” would entertain me. That approach generally fails, since the concept behind most law firm sites is that it provides professional services information to supplement the firm’s business practices. A law firm site is expected to provide certain information, professionalism and resources. There are some exceptions, with firms seeking to develop more of an e-commerce business (sell quickie divorces, wills), where the components are a bit different. But, the most important part is to make sure the site provides expected information, follows ethical considerations of your local bar, and is professional in appearance.
I would suggest that most sites constructed by a “free web site service” or developed by your kid (who did a great job on a Brittany Spears tribute site on AOL!) often appear to be just that. If I can tell your kid did it, than it was not a good job. Also, avoid being the five millionth firm with a scales of justice as the home page centerpiece.
Must-Have Components:
Should-Have:
Could-Have:
Out-There:
You may choose from a variety of design functions, such as:
Items to supply developer for inclusion in design process:
Review exiting sites of competitors and simply sites you enjoy for:
5. Long-Range Plans
For your site to be successful, you need to think about how the site will be updated post-release—not just technologically, but how you will be pro-active in getting together content from within the firm. Once a month? Once a week? Again, this depends on your practice and goals for the site.
See how your site rates in these categories:
6. Is your site ethically sound?
Unlike most on-line businesses, you DO have to concern yourself with ethical considerations. Follow these steps, and think about these potential issues, and how you address them:
APPROPRIATE "DISCLAIMER" LANGUAGE ON SITE
CONSULT RELEVANT SOURCES
WHICH RULES APPLY?
POTENTIAL ISSUES