A good quality, informative website is an essential marketing tool for barristers’ chambers. Most enquiries begin with an online search. A professional website with well organised and relevant pages stands the best chance of being found by potential clients, particularly if new content is added regularly.
Structuring the site
Easy website navigation is essential, with clear headings and obvious structure. The site doesn’t need to be complex, in fact, a simple layout is almost always better and will encourage visitors to stay longer.
The internet levels the playing field, allowing smaller organisations to compete with much bigger outfits. Where they can capture the right tone and provide the right information for potential clients, smaller chambers will be successful in winning new clients just as much as the large barristers’ chambers.
What to include on a website for barristers
An attractive website will have a clean, open appearance, with good quality images and branding that matches across the site. It should be easy to see how to make contact, with details on every page and clear requests to the reader to ring or email with any enquiries.
The following pages will usually be included on a barristers’ chambers’ site:
Home page
It must be obvious immediately on the home page what the purpose of the website is. The content should summarise the whole site, giving potential clients a reason why they should choose you and making it easy for them to find their way to other pages.
About
This is your chance to give an overview of your chambers and give visitors an idea of your ethos. For example, you may be committed to helping business owners bring successful cases or pride yourselves on being modern and approachable.
Visitors should be able to see within a few sentences whether they are in the right place and whether it is likely that you will have a barrister who can help them. It gives a more personal flavour than the home page, making some introductions and explaining in general terms what you do.
Practice areas
All of the practice areas covered by your barristers should be included, with a separate page for each, together with the type of work offered in each area. For example, rather than simply listing business and commercial law, include details of the different ways in which help is offered, such as by advising on mergers and acquisitions or supporting businesses through dispute procedures.
Your barristers should have some input on the writing of the content for their practice areas to ensure that all of the work they offer is included.
Barrister Profiles
Biographies are one of the most visited pages of a website and a good profile is often the clinching factor in attracting a new client.
The content needs to be engaging, helping the reader to connect with the barrister by showing that they are offering exactly what they want or that they have something in common. For instance, someone looking for representation in a dispute may want someone who comes across as sympathetic and understanding and who has had success in similar cases.
For more ideas for creating strong legal profiles, see our article 7 tips for writing a lawyer biography.
Insights
An insights page might be called ‘News’ or ‘Thought leadership’ or similar on some websites. It is simply a place where relevant and interesting articles are regularly added so that clients can see your expertise in action.
It has really good reach, and when done well can attract exactly the business you are looking for. For example, if you write a piece entitled, ‘Successfully navigating a business dispute’, then the people reading it will have looked for that in a search engine and are likely to be looking for help in this area.
The insights section is a chance for your barristers to establish themselves as experts in their fields. It is also a great way to improve your website’s search engine rankings, as regularly adding good quality content is the best way of improving visibility.
When searching for topics to write about, put yourself in your ideal clients’ shoes and ask yourself what problems they have. The articles don’t always have to push your services but should be helpful and informative. Make sure that you use consistent language and tone and that these are right for your audience, whether this is solicitors or the public.
Cases
Including brief details of successful cases is a great way to engage people as well as showcasing your barristers’ capabilities. Potential clients with similar problems will be able to envisage you obtaining similar success for them.
At Orion Legal Marketing, we are experts in writing web pages that connect with people and demonstrate lawyers’ proficiency. If you would like to request bespoke content, tailored to your audience and written by an expert in both law and marketing, ring us on 0118 380 5980, email us at enquiries@orionlegalmarketing.co.uk or fill in our CONTACT FORM. We’ll be happy to offer you an initial free consultation to discuss your needs and the strategy that would best suit your Chambers.
