5 ways to build a law firm website on the cheap
Web design can be a daunting and expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. Learn five ways you can save below.
1) Use a website builder service
Many companies are trying to turn the process of web design into software as a service. The idea is to build an idiot-proof web program that allows you to design and maintain your own website. There are so many of these services it’s hard to keep track of them, but a few that come to mind (not necessarily because they’re good) are Weebly, Intuit, Godaddy and Yahoo.
Many such services offer a free trial, so if you have the time, then you can easily play around with the service to see if you like the results. As a general rule, the trade off here is that you can use them without knowing anything about web design, but you lack the ability to completely control and customize your website. Depending on your needs and the site builder you choose, this can be a very inexpensive, yet good, way of building your website. (Tip: if you do this, pick a service that lets you use a unique domain name that you own, since it helps with SEO if you leave the service later.)
2) Buy a pre-made template
Much of the expense in the web design process is in building the template, which is the “skin” on your website that controls how it looks. Traditionally, a designer mocks up several versions, you give feedback, and then after some vigorous back and forth you settle on a design.
You can skip this expensive, time-consuming process by using a pre-made template (which is what some web designers do anyway, and then sell it to you at a profit). If needed you can hire someone to lightly customize the template for less than you would spend designing it from scratch. Once you’ve got that template in hand, you can go to a local web design firm and save big since most of the design work is already done. There are tons of places on the web that sell web templates, and some are completely free. Here is an example of a place selling 200 legal website templates for around $60 each.
3) Hire a foreign contractor online
Companies like Elance and Rentacoder have made it easy to outsource web design work. The contractors you hire with them cost a fraction of their US counterparts. Plus, many such companies use an escrow service to handle payment, so you don’t have to worry about getting ripped off. But outsourcing abroad is no magic pill.
Outsourcing to foreign contractors works best when you know exactly what you want because you can’t sit down and discuss your options like you can with a local designer, and to the extent you can discuss things, language barriers and time zones make it difficult. So if you’re not sure what you want, or need in-person or phone contact, then avoid this route.
However, if you can adapt to doing business across the world, then it’s best to break your job up into small bits, e.g., have someone design your template, and then have someone else code it into a functional website (it’s usually best to separate design and coding work, since they’re different skills). Breaking up projects into smaller projects makes project management easier and reduces your risk. Lastly, make sure to pick contractors with good feedback history, good English skills and set firm deadlines to avoid never ending projects.
4) Get a custom designed template at 99designs.com
If you’re very picky about how your website looks, then a great way to have a template designed cheaply that you’re guaranteed to like is to go to 99designs.com and hold a contest. There, for as low as $300, you can have several people (sometimes up to 50, depending on your prize amount) design templates, and you only buy the one you like best.
The real advantage of using 99designs is the high number of different designers taking a crack at your design and how little you pay per design. Once you’ve got the perfect design in hand, you’ll need someone to code it into a website. You can have a local web design firm do it, or to save even more money you can have a foreign contractor do it. If you need any more pages designed, you can directly offer the same person who won the contest the job, and they will often do it at a very reasonable price, particularly if they’re offshore. (Tip: 99designs is also a great place to have your logo designed, regardless of how you have your website designed.)
5) Use a free CMS to power your website
A content management system (CMS) allows you to handle your own web maintenance without knowing HTML. Put another way, using a CMS allows you to edit your web pages just as easily as you would edit a Microsoft Word document. Best of all, you don’t even have to pay for CMS software because open source CMSs like Joomla and Drupal are completely free.
If you don’t use a CMS, then you’ll need to learn HTML yourself or rely on (and pay) a web designer every time you want to change a word on your website. If you’re constantly changing your website, then building it on a CMS can save you a ton of money by allowing you handle simple maintenance on your own. The downside of using a CMS is that it can be a bit more difficult to setup at first (for example, you need to modify most templates to work with them), but the increased costs, if any, aren’t much and they can easily pay for themselves.
Do it yourself web design isn’t for everyone
If you have no spare time, zero interest in web design or need to have your hand held when it comes to technology, then you’re probably better off going to a local, full-service web design firm. If, however, you’re the type of person who enjoys getting your hands dirty, sees the inevitable frustrations of web development as a fun challenge and you’re willing to put in the time, then the above options could be a great way to save money.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Seriously? Leaving “dirty hands,” “fun challenges” and gobs of time aside, show me a DIY law firm website and I’ll show you one with crappy usability, poorly executed strategic messaging (when there’s any at all) and tons of missed opportunities. If you actually have a firm worth promoting don’t try this yourself, kids. And don’t trust yourself to FindLaw either; they charge an outrageous fee for very little value, in many cases. Find a real professional who can evaluate your needs (articulate them back to you), execute on them, and measure results. There’s a heck of a lot more to effective Web design that cobbling together templates and getting your code to work.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
In an ideal world, everyone would hire a professional to completely handle their web design (and everything else that requires training and experience to perfect). In reality, not everyone is able to do that, especially new solos with very limited budgets. Luckily with all the options available, it doesn’t have to be a choice between having no website and breaking the bank.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:32 am
@Taliesin- I agree that DIY law firm websites are typically lacking in usability, messaging, and conversion optimization (not to mention search engine optimization). And I really agree with your comments about companies that are charging outrageous fees for very little value.
However, I must agree with @Nick that a professional looking site can be implemented for very little cost through a free CMS like WordPress.
Most law firms, especially solo to small firms with consumer-based practices, just don’t need the highly customized, flashy, and expensive websites that most web developers advocate. What they do need is traffic, leads, and new clients from their website, which requires “getting found”.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:21 am
We live in a world of technology and visual input. Often, the success of a business depends on how the consumer sees the company. A graphic design firm can polish the company’s image to improve its success.
January 19th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
I’d also recommend Moonfruit (moonfruit.com/) and Squarespace (squarespace.com) for sites on a budget. The relatively complexity involved is low, the site templates are fairly high quality, they readily support dynamic content and there’s room for later expansion, design & development (especially with Squarespace) without having to alter the core of your site.
April 27th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
1) Starting small is a good idea, you should be fine on a shared plan with a decent host and you can always upgrade/move to another provider at a later time.
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:12 am
I’m really loving the blog, and hope this, as well as the excellent article some other people have written, will help somebody