What a law firm website needs
People look for a lawyer when something has gone wrong or is about to change: an accident, a divorce, a business deal, an arrest. They want to know quickly whether you handle their kind of matter, who would work on it and how to reach you. A good law firm website answers those three questions on every page, stays within the advertising rules lawyers work under, and works for everyone who needs it.
The facts here come from primary sources: the State Bar of California's published Rule 7.1 and Rule 7.2 (as one state's example), the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the U.S. Department of Justice's Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, the ADA text at 42 U.S.C. § 12181, Google's Guidelines for representing your business on Google and Prohibited and restricted content policy, and schema.org's LegalService type. This page explains how those rules shape a website. It is not legal advice: check your own state's rules, or ask your bar's ethics hotline, before you publish.
The short answer
A law firm website needs a page for each practice area written for the client, a bio for each lawyer, a clear way to get in touch that does not invite confidential details too early, reviews and results presented within your state's advertising rules, the accessibility basics, and a name, address and phone number that match your Google Business Profile. Everything on it is lawyer advertising, so the rules on false or misleading communications apply to every page.
The advertising rules come first
The ABA publishes the Model Rules of Professional Conduct; each state adopts its own rules. California, for example, follows the model's framework of separate rules for communications about a lawyer's services (7.1), advertising (7.2) and solicitation (7.3). The details differ from state to state, so treat what follows as an example, not your rule.
California's Rule 7.1 says: "A lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services." Its comment says the rule "governs all communications of any type whatsoever about the lawyer or the lawyer's services, including advertising", which in practice includes your website. The comments also say that a communication containing "an express guarantee or warranty of the result of a particular representation" is false or misleading, and that a truthful statement can still be misleading if it leaves out a fact needed to read it fairly.
California's Rule 7.2 lets lawyers advertise "through any written, recorded or electronic means of communication", and adds that any such communication "shall include the name and address of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content." On a website that usually means the firm name and office address in the footer of every page. Other states have their own versions. Your state bar publishes its rules; read them before the site goes live.
Practice-area pages
Give each area you actually handle its own page: what kind of matters it covers, who it is for, how a matter usually goes and what the client should bring to a first meeting. Write it for someone who has never hired a lawyer, in plain words, with the legal terms explained where you have to use them. These pages are also where paid ads should land: our Google Ads for lawyers guide sets up one campaign per practice area for that reason.
Keep claims inside the rules above. Words like "best", "expert" or "specialist" may be a problem depending on your state; California's comment, for example, warns that "an unsubstantiated comparison of the lawyer's services or fees with the services or fees of other lawyers may be misleading". Our guides to website copywriting and FAQ pages cover the writing side; service area pages covers firms that serve several towns.
Attorney bios
Many clients choose the lawyer before the firm, so each bio deserves its own page: a recent photo, practice areas, bar admissions, education, languages spoken and a direct way to contact that lawyer or their assistant. California's comment adds one point worth copying anywhere: do not say a lawyer can provide legal services in a language unless they actually can, or the page names the role of the person who speaks it.
Contact and intake
Put a phone number and a short contact form on every page, plus office hours and what happens next. Ask for little: name, how to reach them, the type of matter and a short description. Our view: tell visitors in plain words, right above the form, that sending it does not make them a client and that they should not send confidential details until you have confirmed you can take the matter. Whether your state requires specific wording here is a question for your bar's rules.
Our guides to website forms, form spam and website privacy basics cover the details. If clients book first consultations online, see online booking for service businesses.
Reviews, testimonials and case results
Reviews and results are where the advertising rules and the website meet most often. California's comment says that truthfully reporting results, or "a testimonial about or endorsement of the lawyer, may be misleading" if it would lead a reasonable person to expect the same outcome "without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client's case", and that "an appropriate disclaimer or qualifying language often avoids creating unjustified expectations."
For Google reviews, Google's policy bars businesses from offering "incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" in exchange for a review, and removes reviews based on a conflict of interest. Whether and how you may ask clients for reviews is a question for your state's rules. When you reply to a review, keep in mind your duty of confidentiality to clients and do not discuss their matter. Our guides to reviews and testimonials on websites and Google Business Profile reviews cover the mechanics.
Accessibility
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act lists the "office of an accountant or lawyer" among public accommodations in 42 U.S.C. § 12181. The Justice Department's web guidance says it "has consistently taken the position that the ADA's requirements apply to all the goods, services, privileges, or activities offered by public accommodations, including those offered on the web." Its examples of what businesses should do include sufficient color contrast, alt text on images, captions on videos, labelled forms with clear error messages, and keyboard access.
On law firm sites, watch contact forms without labels, scanned PDFs and video testimonials without captions. Our guides to website accessibility basics and website accessibility laws go further.
Matching your Google Business Profile
Google's guidelines say a business name "should reflect your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers", and that a virtual office the business does not operate from "isn't eligible for a Business Profile." Use the same firm name, address and phone number on the website and the profile.
Google names lawyers as individual practitioners, who may have their own profile, which "may include title or degree certification (for example Dr., MD, JD, Esq., CFA)", if they work in a public-facing role and "can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours". Where several practitioners work at one location, the firm should have its own profile, and each practitioner's profile title "should include only the name of the practitioner". A lawyer should not have several profiles for different specializations. Our guide to Google Business Profile covers set-up.
On the site itself, schema.org lists LegalService as a type of LocalBusiness, with Attorney and Notary as more specific types, and Google's local business documentation asks you to use the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible. Our guide to LocalBusiness structured data shows how to add it.
A short checklist (our view)
- You have read your state's advertising rules, and the site says nothing that guarantees a result.
- The firm name and the address of a responsible lawyer or office are on every page.
- Each practice area you handle has its own plain-English page.
- Each lawyer has a current bio with admissions, languages and a direct contact.
- The contact form asks for little, says it does not create a client relationship, and works on a phone.
- Reviews and results carry the qualifying language your rules require.
- Name, address and phone match Google, and the home, practice and contact pages pass the accessibility basics above.
For the content to gather before a build, see our website content checklist; restaurants, nonprofits and accounting firms have matching guides in what a restaurant website needs, what a nonprofit website needs and what an accounting firm website needs. If you would rather have it built for you, our website development service builds custom WordPress and static websites made to load fast, rank well and be easy for your team to edit.
Frequently asked questions
Is a law firm website considered advertising?
Generally yes. California's Rule 7.1 comment says the rule governs all communications of any type about a lawyer or the lawyer's services, including advertising. Rules differ by state, so check your own.
Can a law firm website show client testimonials?
It depends on your state. California's comment says testimonials and reported results may be misleading if they suggest the same outcome is likely for others, and that a disclaimer or qualifying language often avoids that. Some states are stricter.
Do law firm websites have to be accessible?
The ADA lists the office of a lawyer among public accommodations, and the Justice Department's guidance says the ADA's requirements apply to what public accommodations offer on the web. Its examples include alt text, color contrast, captions, labelled forms and keyboard access.
Should each lawyer have a Google Business Profile?
Google lets a public-facing lawyer who can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours have their own profile, titled with only the lawyer's name. The firm keeps its own profile for the location, and a lawyer should not have several profiles for different specializations.