Lawyer Website Template vs Custom Built Website

Whether you are a new law firm looking to immediately market yourself or a law firm looking to break into the digital space, you must first build a visually appealing and useful website. You can get this done quickly using a template on a web builder platform, but this might hurt you more than it helps. If you want a website strategically made for desktop and mobile, user-friendly, and converts users into cases, look no further than the web design offering at Array Digital. To speak with an expert in website design, call 757.333.3021 or use our contact page today.

What Is the Purpose of a Website Template?

A lawyer website template is something some practices turn to for a fast and simple way to get a website up. It is often a predesigned resource. It provides the very basics of the website structure for the website layout and features of the website. Website templates are often provided by suppliers who hope to make web design a bit easier for the designer.

Lawyer website templates are supposed to be a fast way for a law firm to get a homepage, contact form, and some basic pages up without spending too much money. You may find a variety of options out there, including free themes from a visual builder or a very simple HTML template. You may think that using a drop page builder may work for you. Before making that decision, consider a few key factors.

Are There Downsides to Using a Law Firm Website Template?

There are numerous limitations and disadvantages to a law firm website that uses this type of template. Using a template like this on a web builder is less desirable than using a custom website for many reasons. Take a closer look at some of the most common limitations.

There’s less originality for your law office in some basic lawyer WordPress theme templates.

It’s common for numerous law firms to use the same attorney website template. They simply plug information into the various locations in the header, footer, and other spaces and add images, and they are done. Your website may look much like theirs.

Improper Coding and Structure Are Common

Coding concerns can be a big problem for many organizations, including issues with an HTML5 template, the CSS or CSS3, or other coding components for your website. Errors in a standard lawyer website template could end up hurting your business. Furthermore, if your firm works with several bilingual clients, you have to learn to use tools like WPML, which requires a deeper understanding of WordPress’s software.

When you use a template on a web builder, you may find that there are problems related to the improper structure of the design itself.

One common concern relates to breadcrumbs. Breadcrumb navigation is a critical feature for barristers’ websites with numerous pages. It helps visitors to the website find their way around it, reducing the number of actions they have to take to get to the page they want. It also helps with making navigation of the website easier across the various sections and pages. Breadcrumb navigation also works as a visual aid that helps users know where they are on the website. In short, without this type of functionality, it’s hard to know where to go next when looking through the site.

Another concern is heading structure. Headings are an important part of web design. They help improve the site’s appearance and the content on the page. They also make the website more accessible. They work to split information into different sections, letting people easily move through the page visually and keeping them interested. Proper heading structure is also necessary for assistive technologies – those used by visually impaired individuals – to use the website. Without the proper header structure, an attorney’s website isn’t going to meet everyone’s needs.

As a lawyer, you may not know the rules of technical search engine optimization (SEO). Technical SEO is a big part of any legal or business website. It is in place to allow search engines to crawl the page and determine the proper ranking, or positioning, of your website in the search engine results pages, mainly Google search. That means that when SEO is used properly, it can help prospective visitors to find your website when they type queries like “best lawyer near me” in their city or seek out an attorney to answer their questions.

Less Mobile Responsiveness Over Time Can Occur

Responsive websites are essential. That is, if you do not use a responsive template, this can limit your abilities now and later to meet your readers’ expectations. This is particularly worrisome for mobile access. For example, adding new elements to your website over time can negatively impact mobile devices’ usability. Instead, you want a clean, retina-ready solution.

Array Digital’s design team knows just what elements to add to a website and where to add them for maximum efficiency. We can also integrate busier elements onto your website, such as a social media feed, while still keeping your site balanced.

Slower website speeds

A website you create yourself in builders like Bootstrap or Wix will likely not pass Google Core Web Vitals. Core Web Vitals are very specific factors that Google believes are critical to website user experience. This includes three specific page speed and user interaction measurements. According to Google, the largest contently paint, the first input delay, and the cumulative layout shift are all very important to the usability of the site. This focuses on the website’s loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. These are parameters with which lawyers are often not familiar.

Array Digital boasts a dedicated web development team that builds and maintains websites with Core Web Vitals in mind. We focus on every detail of the process to ensure your multipurpose website is fully functional. What’s even better, we can accommodate most needs with our ADA compliance offering. If you would like to showcase other parts of your online presence, such as your business listing on Google Maps or LinkedIn profile, our team will integrate those features into your website, as well. We complete several rounds of testing to ensure that all new content is efficient before publishing your website.

What Are the Benefits of a Custom Website?

A custom website supports everything that a template does not. That includes everything listed above. It allows you to have a high-quality, responsive website with a modern design that you select. You’ll have a responsive design for your law office that communicates the legal services you offer and incorporates everything that is essential to great functionality. Our goal is to always ensure you have the best law firm website possible.

A custom website from Array Digital is an investment. We build the website, maintain it, update it with content if you are an SEO client, and host it. Array Digital asks for client feedback during the website design process, too. We highly value collaboration with all lawyers we work with to create and maintain websites.

Competitive law firms pay agencies to build and maintain their websites. We believe in the importance of developing solutions that work specifically for your legal offices. Unlike typical lawyer templates, we can provide you with a very specific solution that attracts the right cases.

A custom website is a custom solution. We build websites with future additions in mind. For example, you may want to add on an SEO plan in the future to expand your business. We design websites to be fully compatible with any future marketing additions you may make. The goal is to give you all of the tools you need to be the legal advisors you want to be and bring in potential clients with ease.

Do Custom Websites Convert Better for a Lawyer or Attorney?

When it comes to custom websites, converting visitors to cases is important. A predesigned law firm WordPress theme may not work to achieve this. If you want to bring leads in from a beautifully-designed landing page, you need page layouts specifically developed to convert.

Having a custom website draws users to call your firm for consultations or to purchase additional products you may offer (i.e., videos, books, etc.). When built intentionally, users can navigate the website to find various practice areas you provide service for, click on the information they need, and get to the contact form quickly to contact you for more information.

With the proper widgets, plugins, and other tools, a responsive layout encourages visitors to take action. People use your professional website to learn what you can do for them, get sound legal advice, and then take action. They read your testimonials to learn from your past clients’ experiences, and they browse your social media feed and blogs to learn more about how you would potentially handle their cases. When your website houses all of this information, website users have a higher chance of converting.

What Would I Pay for a Custom Law Office Website?

Many things go into the cost of a custom website beyond just site templates. With all of the flexibility we offer, costs vary significantly. However, we offer competitive pricing for our digital marketing plans. You can learn more about our current pricing on our web design pricing page.

For those that need a custom solution, no problem! Speak directly with our sales team to find a solution that works for you. We can work with you to get every detail in place, from color schemes to plugins that help with building your online presence. When you need more than a basic attorney WordPress theme with limited flexibility, let our team help you.

Call Array Digital for a Custom Solution for Your Law Firm

Go beyond using pre-made law firm page templates. Let us build a website that is uniquely yours and properly represents your brand. To speak with an expert in website design, call 757.333.3021 or reach us through our contact page today.