The whole point behind having a website is so potential clients can contact you. If that wasn’t the point, you’d be providing individuals with free information and that is it. Nothing else would happen.
The whole reason behind providing the public with valuable information on the website is to show your legal expertise and to also show potential clients that you know what they’re going through and you can produce a strategy for them that can ultimately lead to the most favorable outcome. This text is put in place to let them know they can contact you and talk to you. It then informs them of how they can contact you. This is where your contact page comes in. Pointing people to your contact form is just as important as telling them your telephone number.
Why People Use Contact Forms
Potential clients like to have options. If you have online chat capability, they may want to talk to you that way. Then again, they may choose traditional telephone interaction. The contact form, however, is used for various reasons. For instance, a parent may be home with the kids and, sometimes, it can be almost impossible to have a telephone conversation with kids interrupting and making a lot of noise. Then again, a person who is at work may not be able to use the phone, so this is the easiest way for them to initiate contact. The contact form also adds to the confidentiality of initiating contact because they may not want people in the immediate area to hear their business.
Another reason why people use contact forms is to see which attorney will respond to them first. It can sometimes be difficult to choose an attorney, so some individuals use this as a way to help them make their choice. Plus, there is the fact that many people work during your business hours, so calling you may mean getting your answering machine and some people are uncomfortable with leaving voice messages. Filling out the form gives them more time to construct their message than an answering machine does.
The Anatomy Of Your Law Firm Contact Form
The form should be inviting, but it should also be as simple as possible. You do not want to discourage someone from filling out the form because it looks overly complicated. Unfortunately, someone can land on your page and leave after seeing a complicated form as opposed to proceeding to another page on the site.
It is suggested that your form has the standard name, telephone number, and/or email address fields. You may also have a comments or questions box that will enable the individual to tell you a little something about their case, if they choose to do so.
Law Firm Website Design
It is ideal to have a lot of useful content on your website for each practice area. This allows your website to be search engine optimized, while also providing visitors with information that is relevant to their legal situation. That information should not be repetitive (such as repeating practice areas on every page) and should be void of information that could entice them to leave before opting to contact you.
The page has to focus on encouraging the visitor to make contact with your firm. There should be links on each practice area page, blog entry, and any other area of the site where there is information that could entice the visitor to fill out the contact form. The telephone number should be visible on every page and the visitor needs to know that you will get back to them when they make contact with you. They also need to know that any interaction with you is confidential. It’s all about building trust so that they will make contact with you.
