June 20, 2021

Optimizing Your Law Firm’s Website For Mobile

Over the past decade, advancements in technology have made it easier to access everything you need through a smartphone. In 2020, Statista stated that over 90% of the internet population uses a mobile device to access the world wide web. If you’re not applying mobile optimization for the 90%, you’re losing out on many potential clients.

When a mobile user clicks on your website and sees that it’s hard to navigate on their phone, they will leave. They will not consider the services no matter how good they are, and they most likely will not return. Mobile optimization is the key to increasing the reach of your law firm.

Mobile Matters: An Issue of Convenience

Over 5 billion people in the world use smartphones, and the number increases with each passing year. What is the reason for the popularity of mobile phones? The answer is simple: they make life more convenient. Smartphones aren’t just a tool for calling and texting, but they are now a doorway to the digital experience.

Our technology has rapidly evolved to the point that the internet is now a part of life. Many people cannot go a day without browsing the internet, going to their favorite websites, or scrolling on social media. It also provides an opportunity for any business looking to increase its online visibility.

Creating a strong mobile presence helps your law firm stay visible on the radar of the many online passers-by. Search engines like Google also value websites optimized for the mobile experience and bump these sites up higher in rankings.

The popularity of social media is also one key to the growth of the online experience. Now people have a reason to stay online because it allows them to engage with one another. They can connect with friends, services, products, and businesses in the comfort of their own homes, meaning that a mobile website coupled with a social media presence can help bring clients to your firm.

People Have Higher Standards

With mobile websites becoming more common, people have more exposure to high-quality sites. No matter what kind of website it is, users want to spend time on sites that offer them easy-to-navigate interfaces coupled with pleasing aesthetics. A poor experience on your website means lower chances of potential clients reaching out to you for a consultation. So while it’s important to make your website mobile compatible, optimizing it for the best user experience is also a part of the investment.

The Benefits of Mobile Optimization

While mobile optimization will require some investment, it helps your law firm in the long run. Here are some of the benefits you’ll experience:

• Search engine optimization (SEO): Mobile optimization is now a key strategy to improve search engine rankings. It is a factor that these engines actively seek now due to a large mobile user base.
• Improved speeds: An optimized mobile website will load and respond quickly. Fast response times are critical to ensuring that your potential audience stays engaged for as long as possible, improving the chances of them contacting your firm.
• Connect with your locality: Most of your business will come from people actively seeking legal counsel in your area. An improvement in your rankings means that you’ll be a recommendation when locals search for a legal service.
• Better engagement: Engagement is crucial in building your brand and creating loyalty. With an optimized site, users will spend more time on your site, interacting with your content. This will help them build a relationship with you until they are ready to communicate directly.

How To Make a Mobile Optimized Website

There are many ways to optimize your website, but some will have a bigger impact than others. Considering all of these practices is the key to helping your law firm stand out from the crowd.

Use a Mobile-First Design

If you haven’t launched your website yet, or are considering getting a makeover, focus on a mobile-first design. When you design with the mobile setup in mind first, you’ll encounter fewer problems with layout and finding space for content for larger screen sizes. Consult with a web design firm to ensure this is done correctly.

Check All Supporting Scripts for Compatibility

While your website may seem to work fine while you’re testing it on the desktop, check all items on mobile as well. It’s easy to miss some blocked scripts that can cause issues with images and other pages. Your visitors can end up seeing error screens or 404s, which may cause them to leave. The search engines won’t be able to categorize and check those pages either.

Be Careful With Large Image Files

The images you put on the website may look beautiful, but they can take up a lot of space if you’re integrating them directly on the site. Make sure to reduce your image file sizes by using a site like Optimizilla to bump up your website’s speed.

Avoid Low-Quality Videos

Videos matter, and their popularity as a marketing tool only continues to grow due to their effectiveness. However, quality is an important thing to consider. Avoid using low-quality videos and large videos that take too long to load. Likewise, avoid using outdated formats like Flash when there are more compatible and faster formats like HTML5.

Use a Plugin for WordPress

If your website is on WordPress, consider using a plugin to make your site compatible with mobile devices. There are many options, so you can test them or check the reviews before committing. You can also use plugins that can minimize code to help with the mobile transition.

Don’t Duplicate Content

If you’re not using a responsive design, you’re likely dealing with two separate pages for desktop and mobile, and it’s vital to have the same content on each. If not, you may get tagged as a duplicate site by search engines. It can take time to make sure everything is the same, so you should avoid this issue altogether by using a responsive design.

Check For Website Weaknesses

There are many tools your firm can use to check your website. They will examine and test different aspects for errors. Aside from scripts and site speed, errors can spring up in various implementations of your site on mobile. Some examples include:

• Improper signals for search engine crawlers
• Improper redirection
• The website not giving access to search engine crawlers

Avoid Tunnel Vision

Due to the possibility of getting leads and conversions, it’s easy to focus on the mobile audience only. However, while you are optimizing for mobile, do not neglect your desktop visitors, as these visitors still make up a good percentage of your potential clients. Growing your digital presence is all about catering to all possible clients for your law firm.

The Results of Optimization

Mobile optimization for your law firm will result in an easy-to-navigate, fast, and attractive website that will create a lasting impression on visitors by bringing out the positive qualities of your law firm. If you feel like you don’t have the resources for optimization, you can always hire professionals. No matter how you go about getting a mobile optimized website for your law firm, know that it is a worthwhile investment that you should take seriously.