How Photos Affect Your Attorney Website
Personalizing your law firm website will help take your custom web design for law firms to the next level. The quickest and most effective way to do this is through high-quality photos of you, your partners, and your team.
Here are some common questions we hear from our clients regarding images:
- Can I use law firm stock photos or are photos of my firm better?
- Can I take the photos myself or do I need a photographer?
- What is the best page to put a photo on?
We’ll address all of these questions later on. First, it’s important to learn just how crucial images are to your site.
Why Law Firm Photos?
Studies have shown that sites with high-quality pictures get 94% more views than those with just text. Even adding pictures to all-text sites will increase your views by 45%.
Nowadays, putting keywords and descriptions on pictures will allow Google to search and find them, increasing search engine optimization and ranking. This will bring more potential clients to the site.
Here are some other reasons you really should be putting high-quality images on your website.
“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words”
Even if you’re an excellent writer, your clients may not completely understand the areas of law you practice.
Many websites use jargon that the public cannot understand, but this is especially true for law websites.
Photographs can help clue your clients to what you can help them with. Perhaps you want to show that you’re empathetic to clients who are going through a difficult divorce, so you’ll include images that are more solemn.
Using the same situation, if you want to show that you can help clients get back to a happier life after divorce, you’ll want to include images of people smiling.
Attorney Photos Enhance Appeal
Clients often seek the assistance of an attorney during stressful times in their lives. The process of making significant changes in their lives can be stressful and the process can be overwhelming.
Putting this process in big chunks of text is difficult for many people to navigate, especially in a stressful time.
Photographs on a website can help break this information up into more manageable pieces. This gives the reader a mental break between large segments of information as well as information that is unpleasant.
Lawyer Photos Set Expectations
During a legal case, whether it’s the process of becoming a United States citizen, appealing a criminal verdict that the client feels is unjust or finalizing a bankruptcy proceeding, photographs on a lawyer website can show clients a realistic idea of what to expect along the way.
Consider adding a photograph of your attorneys and the courthouse if clients can expect to spend time in court hearings.
Best Law Firm Website Photos Practices
Now that you know the importance of photos, let’s address those common questions mentioned at the beginning of the blog.
Stock Photos vs. Firm Photos
Should you use stock photos or actual photos from your firm?
Stock photos can be a great option to add images for law firm websites on practice area pages, blog posts, and minor pages.
But, when it comes to the home page and attorney bio pages, it is important to have photos from your law firm.
By adding your best law firm photos, a potential client will feel more comfortable setting up an appointment to meet with a specific attorney.
The ability to see who will be working on your case will greatly influence a decision to hire an attorney. Whether or not you are photogenic, it is important to put a face to your name, as it will allow potential clients the opportunity to connect with who you really are.
Professional Photos vs. Do It Yourself
Having a camera with you in your back pocket might make you think taking a high-quality photo is easy.
While you may be a talented amateur photographer, it is best to let a professional photographer take photos of the attorneys and the office. A photographer will have better equipment for posing and lighting.
In addition to that, he or she will be able to provide high-resolution images which will not become pixilated and blurring when added to the website.
Where to Put the Images
Where is the best place for firm photos to be placed on the website?
As mentioned before, most visitors will expect to see a photo of you on the attorney bio page, and this is a great place for the client to get to know you.
In addition to that, we have found that websites with firm photos on the home page have improved site engagement (i.e. visitors are more likely to stay on the website and explore what your firm has to offer).
We recommend that you use firm photos on the home page and attorney bio pages.
How Law Firm Sites Can Help
We live in a visual age when everyone carries a camera around. Pictures are one of the best ways to relate to potential clients. Let Law Firm Sites help your law firm implement the right picture for the right purpose. That will help make each visitor’s experience with your site a better one.
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