As the seasons change and the holiday period approaches, now is the time for law firms to start preparing their websites for the upcoming rush. In many cases, website maintenance is something that is left on the backburner until a technical issue arises. However, taking a few hours to clean up and update your law firm website can have a lasting positive impact, ensuring that it runs smoothly during the busiest months of the year. Not only will these updates improve user experience, but they will also enhance your site’s SEO performance. In this post, we’ll explore three key actions to take now for a successful website fall clean-up: updating business hours, fixing broken forms, and refreshing your high-traffic pages.
Update Your Business Hours for the Holidays 
The holidays are typically a busy period for many businesses, and your law firm is no exception. It’s important to ensure that your clients and potential clients know when they can expect to hear from you. Many firms adjust their hours during the holiday season, and failing to reflect those changes on your website can create unnecessary confusion. Whether you’re closing early for Thanksgiving or adjusting your schedule for the New Year, these updates should be clear and easy for users to find.
Updating business hours is more than just changing the text on your website’s contact page. Consider the following steps:
- Update Your Contact Page: Be sure to modify the business hours on your contact page to reflect any holiday hours. Clients often head to this page to get quick, reliable information about your availability, and it’s essential they don’t have to search for this crucial detail.
- Prominently Display Changes: Feature your updated holiday hours on your homepage and across your website. You can even create a holiday announcement banner at the top of your homepage or display a pop-up message to capture your visitor’s attention.
- Notify Clients in Advance: Consider adding a notification or alert a few weeks before the holiday season begins. This can be in the form of a blog post or an alert banner to ensure your clients are prepared for any temporary changes in your hours.
- Reflect Changes in Your Business Listings: In addition to updating your website, it’s equally important to modify your business hours across other platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and other local directories. Clients who find your firm via a search engine or third-party listings will expect up-to-date information on those sites as well.
By updating your business hours early, you reduce the risk of clients attempting to reach you during times you’re closed, and this transparency fosters trust and professionalism.
Fix Forms to Avoid Client Frustration
A common issue that law firm websites face is outdated or malfunctioning forms. Whether it’s a contact form, consultation request, or an intake form, these forms are crucial in converting visitors into potential clients. A broken form is not only frustrating for users but also detrimental to your business.
Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to ensure your website forms are functioning properly before the holiday rush:
- Test All Forms: Conduct a thorough audit of all forms on your website. Whether it’s a consultation request or a client intake form, make sure that the form submits data correctly and that confirmation emails are being sent to both you and the client. It’s essential that clients know their submission has been successfully received.
- Check for Broken Links and Missing Fields: Sometimes, forms may have missing fields or broken links that can cause errors during submission. Regularly check your forms to ensure all fields are required and that users are not left wondering if they missed an important step.
- Update Calls to Action (CTAs): Your calls to action, such as “Request a Consultation” or “Get in Touch,” should be easy to find and relevant to the forms they’re linked to. A clear, actionable CTA guides visitors smoothly through the process and increases conversion rates. Avoid cluttered or vague CTAs that can confuse potential clients.
- Optimize Form Fields: While it’s essential to gather relevant information, be mindful of how much information you’re asking for. Consider the user’s experience when filling out the form. For example, instead of asking for multiple forms of personal information, focus on collecting the essentials for an initial consultation.
- Mobile-Friendly Forms: A large percentage of users now access websites via mobile devices. Ensure that your forms are responsive, easy to navigate on smaller screens, and that the “submit” button is easily clickable without scrolling.
These simple updates will ensure that your website forms are optimized for a seamless user experience and better client conversion.
Refresh High-Traffic Pages for Better User Experience and SEO
High-traffic pages on your website, such as the homepage, practice area pages, and blog posts, are the backbone of your online presence. These pages are typically where visitors spend most of their time, and they are the most important for SEO. Keeping these pages fresh, relevant, and engaging will not only improve your user experience but also help increase your rankings in search engines.
Consider these tips to keep your high-traffic pages up-to-date and optimized:
- Add New, Relevant Content: Take time to update your practice area pages with any new services you may be offering or recent legal updates that could affect potential clients. Adding client testimonials, new case studies, or updated success stories can also provide valuable social proof to your audience.
- Optimize for Mobile Users: As more people use mobile devices to browse the internet, it’s crucial that your high-traffic pages are optimized for mobile. Ensure that all images are properly sized, text is easy to read, and pages load quickly. You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check how well your website performs on mobile devices.
- Internal Linking for Better Navigation: Internal links help users navigate your website with ease, but they also play an important role in SEO. Ensure that key pages, such as your practice area pages, link to each other where relevant. This will guide visitors to content they might be interested in while improving your site’s SEO structure.
- Fix Broken Links: Over time, some of the links on your high-traffic pages may become broken or outdated. Regularly test all internal and external links to ensure they are functional. Broken links can cause visitors to leave your website and impact your SEO.
- Page Speed Optimization: Website speed is a critical factor in user experience and SEO rankings. Slow-loading pages lead to high bounce rates, so be sure to regularly optimize your high-traffic pages for speed. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze performance and fix any speed issues.
- Update Metadata for SEO: Your page titles, meta descriptions, and headings are crucial for SEO. If your content has changed or if you’ve added new material, update these fields to reflect the changes. The meta description should give a clear summary of the page content and encourage users to click through to your site.
By keeping your high-traffic pages fresh and optimized, you’ll ensure that visitors can easily find what they need and improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Wrap-Up: Don’t Forget About Website Security
While you’re focusing on updating hours, fixing forms, and refreshing pages, don’t overlook the importance of website security. Cybersecurity is a year-round concern, but the holiday season can bring an uptick in online fraud and malicious activity. It’s essential to maintain the security of your website and client data.
Here are a few key security practices to implement:
- Update Website Software and Plugins: Ensure that your content management system (CMS), plugins, and security certificates are up to date to protect against potential security breaches.
- Install SSL Certificates: An SSL certificate ensures that data passed through your website, such as client details in forms, is encrypted and secure. Google also uses SSL as a ranking factor, so ensuring your website is SSL-secure is good for both security and SEO.
- Use Strong Passwords: Implement strong password policies for anyone accessing your website’s backend. Avoid using simple or easily guessed passwords and change them regularly.
By prioritizing website security, you’ll protect both your clients and your firm from unnecessary risks, ensuring a smooth user experience throughout the holiday season.
As part of your fall website clean-up, don’t forget the importance of optimizing your law firm website for better performance, security, and user experience. At Accelerate Now, we specialize in improving law firm websites through design, optimization, and digital marketing strategies. Ready to refresh your law firm website and prepare for the holiday season? Contact us today for a free consultation and ensure your website is ready for success.