dan's blog

Auto-Playing Video: The Bane of Law Firm Web Design

dan — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 20:39:27 +0000

Auto-Playing Video: The Bane of Law Firm Web Design

Here’s a fairly common Internet experience: You land on the website of a law firm and unprompted, a video player pops open and a talking head in a suit delivers his sales pitch.

Many law firms probably feel that the auto-playing video is a good way to grab a visitors attention and put their best foot forward. Often times lawyers see this on a competitors website and desire the same feature on their own websites.

Unfortunately autoplay video violates the standards and best practices of the World Wide Web. As a web technology professional I’m going explain why autoplaying video is always the wrong way to go.

Autoplay video fundamentally misunderstands the medium of the World Wide Web and the way visitors use your website.

You may think it’s a good idea to put a video on your homepage and have it autoplay. That way when a visitor arrives he or she will be greeted with a friendly message explaining why they should hire your firm. This will establish a personal connection that your visitors will appreciate.

Nope, your visitors won’t appreciate it, they will be annoyed. Many web-surfers listen to music on the same device they use to browse the Internet. Your video will either cut off of talk over their music. Another consideration, which you have no control over, is volume. You have no idea what the volume level of the users device is. Your message could come out screaming at them, which they will not appreciate.

You may’ve spent a lot of money producing a marketing video. Surely your visitors will want to see the hard work you’ve put into it.

Nope, your visitors don’t care. That’s an ad and no one came to your website to watch an ad. Also, your ad is too long. Let’s say for the sake of argument that your ad is a brisk compact 30 seconds. Now, look at your web analytics. Are your users staying on your homepage for 30 seconds? For the vast majority of websites, they aren’t. Autoplay video fundamentally misunderstands the medium of the World Wide Web and the way visitors use your website.

But you might be thinking, “Auto-playing video makes it easier for visitors to learn about what our law firm can do for them.”

Nope, auto-playing video makes your content less accessible. Content bellow your auto-playing video will not load until your video has loaded. If your visitor has a slow Internet connection or are on a mobile device (as more and more users are these days) they may not be able to view any of you sites content at all. Their entire visit to your site will be thwarted and they will never become a client.

You might be thinking, “Well, there are exceptions to every rule. Sometimes visitors want to watch videos and it’s much more convenient if the video plays automatically.”

Nope, that’s flawed logic.
Youtube.com is the most popular video website in the world. When you visit Youtube’s homepage do you see auto-playing video? No you do not. If the most popular video playing service in the world doesn’t let their videos autoplay why would you?

In general, your visitors come to your website to find your email address, phone number, and maybe a contact form. An effective law firm website facilitates this speedy transaction by making contact information as accessible as possible. If you really must include a video presentation of some sort, make sure it is subordinate to these concerns and no matter what: always put it behind a play button.

dan Thu, 07/14/2016 - 16:39

The Anatomy Of A Winning Landing Page

dan — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 15:26:35 +0000

The Anatomy Of A Winning Landing Page

What is a Landing page, how can they help your business and how can you build a successful one?

In marketing parlance a landing page is a standalone page on your website with a specific attorney marketing goal. A landing page can be a shopping cart, newsletter sign up form or marking inquiry. Usually a landing page will have external links pointing to it, a call to action and a thank you page behind it. They are windmills harnessing the gale force of visitor traffic and converting it to revenue for your business.

When it comes to designing high converting landing pages there’s a lot of science behind the eye catching graphic design, marketing practices, UI research, fancy JavaScript tricks and A/B split testing. But before we head down the rabbit hole let’s reflect on the basics. After all, every landing page out there lives or dies by a few essential ingredients.

The Goal
A goal is what differentiates a landing page from a regular old web page. Often times the goal will be for the visitor to sign up for something: a newsletter, a paid service or a membership of some sort.

The Message
This is the first thing you’re visitors will see when they hit the Social Security disability landing page, for example. It should be a short sentence or two in a large typeface. I like to approach a landing page’s message by dividing it into three parts:

Pose a problem: something your visitor might be looking for.
Offer a solution: how can your business help this visitor find what he or she is looking for.
The Value Proposition: an offer that immediately fulfills a visitor’s need in exchange for filling out your form.

The Description
Your Social Security disability landing page, for example, should include a description of your products or service. Well written copy serves two purposes. First, your description informs your visitors about your business and what they will be signing up for. Additionally, a detailed description is a great SEO opportunity to seed your copy with keywords. While writing copy it is important to pay attention to something called “message match”. Message match is simply the idea that the copy on your landing page should match the voice, style, and syntax of your ads, thank you page, etc.. This continuity creates a logical through line leading the visitor towards your goal.

The Form
Landing pages usually include a form for visitors to fill out. When designing the user input form, keep in mind that every field is an obstacle between the visitor and the goal. Brevity is critical.
Visitors are lazy; they prefer to click rather than to type. When possible, opt for select menus or checkboxes instead of text fields, as the following Social Security disability free case evaluation form shows. While there are a lot of options out there for customized form components, unfamiliar form elements may confuse and alienate some members of your audience.

The Call to Action
Your call to action is arguably the most important part of your landing page; it is how your visitor reaches the goal. On the web, a call to action should be placed within a clickable interactive element (in layman’s terms: a button). Calls to action should always have a hover and active state in order to communicate interactivity to the user.
Protip: Don’t use “Click Here”. Communicate click ability through design and context not heavy-handed instructions.

The Page Flow
Page flow is the idea that the information on your landing page should follow a precise and logical order. You don’t want the problem to follow the solution, or the submit button to be above the form.
Also keep in mind that long lines of text scare readers away. By breaking up your page into bullet points and steps, like breadcrumbs into the woods, you invite the visitor to follow along.

When creating landing pages for your campaigns keep these essential pieces in mind. Pay special care in crafting each piece of your landing page to cooperate with the larger vision and work in tandem toward the final goal.

dan Thu, 01/14/2016 - 10:26

How eLuminate Helped A Real Law Firm Improve Their Business

dan — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 12:52:47 +0000

How eLuminate Helped A Real Law Firm Improve Their Business

In the 90s, some partners in the Southern part of the United States established their family owned law firm in Mississippi.

Their expertise was in Personal Injury and Social Security Disability Law and together they served their city. Eventually they branched out to surrounding areas and ten years later they had offices in other major cities in the South. Their mission was a simple one: to help their friends, neighbors and community by getting them the Personal Injury and Social Security Disability benefits they deserved.

But there was a problem; the hassle of document management. Documents such as retainer packets and outstanding license fees, which were essential to the business but unfortunately were impossible to keep track of. The old fashioned way of emailing documents back and forth just wasn’t cutting it.

Documents would get lost in the mail
They came back stained / damaged /illegible
People don’t have stamps

There had to be a better way. Enter a client management software created by an internet attorney marketing company in Boston, MA.

eLuminate, our client management system, offers innovative document generating features. How much time does your firm spend each week putting documents together? Now, eLuminate does it for you.

#1 Generate Documents

#2 Auto fill Fields

With smart auto fill fields the clients name, contact information, social security number and other important information are filled in dynamically. Removing aggravation for the client and allowing their case to move forward faster.

#3 EchoSign

EchoSign is a web based electronic signature application that allows documents to be signed and verified electronically over the Internet, removing the unreliable and error-prone US Postal Service from the workflow entirely.

And that the story of how a small business solved their problems with eLuminate, our client management software.

dan Wed, 09/02/2015 - 08:52

5 Awful Problems with 5 Easy Solutions

dan — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:49:02 +0000

5 Awful Problems with 5 Easy Solutions

In our experience, most lawyers are not happy with their websites. Many law firms don't have the resources to hire a professional web designer, as well as the time necessary to devote to the project. As a result, many firms end up with something cobbled together by someone's nephew. It's not uncommon for law firms to have a website made years (or even decades) ago that sits neglected in some forgotten corner of the Internet.

With the demographic of people shifting to depend more and more on the Internet, an updated website is something every business needs today. An effective web presence doesn't have to be complicated or fancy. In fact, the best law firm websites are very simple. Where many law firms go wrong is thinking that the basics aren’t enough so here are some common problems with easy solutions.

Mistake 1: Lack of a Clear Message

A lot of law firms don't know what the purpose is of their website. Consequently, their site serves no purpose; it’s an ambivalent shrug of a web presence.

The reason your firm needs a website is because people today don’t pick up the yellow pages. Instead, they pick up their smartphone and ask “how do I file a Social Security Disability Claim. They will click on a few of the top results and visit those sites for, at most, a few minutes. During those minutes you want to communicate why you are the lawyer to handle their case.

A website should have a simple message distilled down to three sentences.

The problem that the potential client faces.
The reason why your firm is the solution to that problem.
A value proposition, something they will receive when they contact you.

Example:

Are you seeking Social Security Benefits?
We've helped thousands of claimants get the benefits they deserve.
Contact us for a free consultation and find out if you qualify.

Your message should be bold and prominent at the top of the page because it's likely a visitor won't read anything else.

Mistake 2: Weak Pictures

A lot of non-professional designers make the mistake of using too many pictures in their pages. Law firms should definitely have pictures on their website as visitors won't read your text. Instead, they will look at pictures. However, it’s important for the firm to ask themselves what is the point of this image? If there is no answer to that question, then the image shouldn’t be used.

Ideally, firms should hire a professional photographer. An alternative to a professional photographer is to use stock photos from services like iStock or Fotolia. Stock photos are a superior alternative to using a cellphone pic someone took in the office.

One large, prominent and professional looking photograph is a great way to communicate confidence, authority and trust.

Mistake 3: Clashing Colors

Color is powerful. It conveys emotion often in a way of which we aren't fully conscious. Improper color doesn't just look messy or unprofessional, it can also make prospective clients feel uneasy. Many law firms believe that color is a great way to liven up any design so they should all be used at once. This is a big mistake.

The proper use of color is actually very complicated. Complimentary colors do not always look good next to each other. Colored text is usually hard to read, especially colored text against a colored background. Most non-professionally designed sites would be improved by being in black and white.

Mistake 4: Busy Background Images

Many websites use images as the background. Other than making your site load slower, background images are busy, get in the way, and often lack any contextual meaning. Using a solid color background, will make a website appear more professional and leave room for meaningful images to be placed throughout.

Mistake 5: Confusing layout

While covering Mistake 1, we discussed how many people today use search engines, such as Google and Bing, as their phone book. If they're looking at your site they want to find your contact info, address, and hours almost immediately. This is the most important information of the page because this is how you will convert visitors into clients.

Surely, lawyers understand this point. However, it’s not always communicated in their websites where this information is located. At times this information is buried under pictures, endless descriptions of services, bios, and company history, among others. Every word is an obstacle between your firm and a client.

In summary, communicating with your clients through the web doesn't have to be expensive or fancy. Stick with simple, user friendly and clear and you'll be successful.

dan Wed, 06/03/2015 - 08:49