What makes good website content

Ever wonder why some law firms’ websites are ‘stickier’ than others? And what makes these sites so interesting that people stay on them longer and want to revisit?

One answer is website content. Interesting content encourages visitors to stay on a website, and increases the likelihood that they will revisit. If your visitors consider your website to be a source of valuable information they will come back. The question is how to provide interesting website content; how to make your website more than just an online brochure.

Having analysed the content of numerous legal websites over the years, we have identified four factors that will help a website stand out from the crowd:

• Content scope 
• Copy quality
• Copy layout
• The means of content delivery

1. Content scope

Before creating content for a website ensure that you identify your audience(s), can provide the information they need and have a unique proposition for your visitors to differentiate from other firms. Ask yourself:

What are your visitors interested in?
To provide the right website content you need to write for your audience, not the firm. Organising a focus group for your clients will give you an understanding of what information will be of use for them. Basic information is a given, but it is with the ‘extras’ that a firm can differentiate itself and add value to its services. Having researched what your audience expects, test your website concept and, once live, monitor usage regularly to fine-tune content. Monitoring page popularity will identify which pages are working for you. 

What is ‘a must’ on your website?
Based on our extensive research, we have identified a minimum scope for a legal website, which includes such essential information as:

• A brief description of the firm, its practice areas and the sectors in which it specialises (backed up by testimonials)
• Partner listings, including biographies, good quality photographs and cross referencing to contact information, practice areas, deals and publications
• General contact details including a printable map with directions
• Articles, publications and marketing materials
• Recruitment information
• Policies
• Legal statements and other information to comply with the EC E-commerce Directive and Companies Act
  

What is the unique proposition of your website?
Determining a unique proposition – a differentiator – of the firm is beyond the scope of this article, but in an online context ask: ‘what sort of information will differentiate the firm?’ ‘What might enhance the perception of your firm?’ ‘Is the information available on your website original?’

Your clients will be able to give you some clues about how they perceive the firm and what on your website they find interesting and useful. Monitoring the online activities of your competitors and other professionals who service your clients will also provide a valuable benchmark.

What other information will enhance how others perceive us?
Recent research* conducted by Intendance shows that the increasing pressure on leading law firms to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) has opened a new chapter in their website content.

Information about the firm’s pro bono activities, diversity information, the firm’s Health and Safety policies, CRM activities and environmental policies are being given more attention.  85% of our respondents agreed that featuring CSR information on the firm’s website is important. Likewise 74% consider information about the firm’s environmental policy and client care statement to be an essential part of firm’s online presentation. More that half of our respondents also agreed that revealing diversity statistics improves the perception of the firm.  

According to our latest research, providing information on seminars and events organised by your firm is also considered to be a good differentiator, as is listing any accreditations and awards. 60% of our respondents considered client case studies to be an important feature of a website, and we also found evidence of an emerging trend of revealing the firm’s key financial data to demonstrate the economic health of the firm.

2. Copy quality

Once you have decided what information to place on your firm’s website, writing the copy is obviously the next challenge. Copywriting style must be consistent throughout the site, irrespective of its scope, and be sure to:

Make sure copy is straight to the point
Website copy needs to be relevant and brief. No marketing speak or legalese, just pure facts in plain English that sell your firm’s services.

Use short sentences
Text-heavy pages and lengthy sentences will deter visitors from digging deeper on the website. Provide just the essential information and refer to any downloadable materials of interest for them. Less tends to be more…

Pay attention to grammar and spelling
No site is perfect, but blatant grammatical mistakes and spelling errors are a turn-off, especially from a profession that thrives on accuracy.

Keep copy up to date
Out of date content can be a deterrent to visitors. Always ensure that any copy that can be easily dated, for example forthcoming events, is updated promptly. Doing so will keep your website fresh and encourage visitors to return.

Consider search engine compatibility
To boost website profile in search engine listings, website copy has to be written for search engines too. There is an art in striking a balance between writing for both humans and machines: the art search engine optimisation. To read more about how website copy influences search engine ranking, please refer to an article by Intendance Consulting: ‘Search Engine Optimisation: Dark art or pure science?’

3. Copy layout

People tend to skim-read website copy, scanning for what interests them and then reading in more depth, so their initial reaction to a page is vital. The layout of the copy and the structure of each page must be as inviting as possible, to engage the reader immediately. Based on our experience with professional websites, a natural flow through your website can be achieved by:

• Avoiding long pages - if the page requires too much scrolling it is better to subdivide the text wherever possible.
• Using headers and subheadings to break up the text
• Using hyperlinks in the body text to direct the reader to other website sections and to cross-referencing to related information 
  

4. The means of content delivery

The information on your website needs to be frequently updated, easily accessible to all visitors and delivered through the most appropriate channel.

Interactive content is becoming increasingly popular: our recent research* shows that RSS feeds, Podcasting and streaming video can be used to communicate a firm’s expertise effectively and provide up-to-date and personalised information. To a visitor, use of such media also adds a sense of extra value to the website.

To assess the best means of contact delivery ask yourself: how do your audience(s) use your site and how accessible is your content to them already? What impact will the use of new technologies have on your users? How frequently is your website updated and what is the burden of doing so? Are you able to support innovative means of content delivery once in place? Which innovations will add true value, and which are more faddish?

Conclusion

• Good content is the lifeblood of a website, so consider carefully what your audience(s) expect. Don’t overlook the basic information
• Striking the right balance between scope and quality of content will help any organisation differentiate itself effectively and drive business
• Ensure copy quality is consistent and of a high standard and pages are laid out well
• Consider how best to deliver content to your website visitors
• Content must always be kept up to date