Law Firm Website Build Planner — Patrick Marketing

Law Firm
Website Build Planner

A complete planning guide and client discovery framework — built to help law firms launch websites that rank, convert, and grow.

Jump to Discovery Form
Part 1
Build Framework

Everything needed to plan and produce a high-performing law firm website — from strategy and structure to technical requirements and content.

Goals & Strategic Direction

Before a single page is built, the strategy must be locked. A law firm website should be built around three core objectives: generate qualified leads, rank for high-value practice area keywords, and establish trust with prospective clients.

Define the firm's primary practice areas in order of revenue priority. Not all areas are equal — the site architecture, content, and homepage hierarchy should reflect what actually drives the firm's growth.

Site Architecture & Page Structure

A high-performing law firm site follows a hub-and-spoke model: a strong homepage drives authority, practice area hub pages capture category-level traffic, and subpages target long-tail and location-specific searches.

  • Homepage
  • Practice Area Hub Pages
  • Practice Area Subpages
  • Attorney / Team Bio Pages
  • Case Results / Verdicts Page
  • About the Firm
  • Testimonials Page
  • Blog / News / Resources
  • Location Pages (multi-market)
  • Contact / Office Locations
  • FAQs Page
  • Privacy Policy / Disclaimer

Homepage: Sections & Sequence

Every homepage section must earn its place. The table below outlines the recommended section order, priority level, and content requirements.

# Section Priority Notes / Content Needed
1 Navigation / Menu Bar Required Logo, click-to-call phone number, primary nav, CTA button. Dropdown submenus for practice areas. Sliding contact panel optional — weigh UX benefit against distraction.
2 Hero Section Required Primary headline, subheadline, and CTA. Brand promise (e.g., "I Win or It's Free"). High-quality attorney or courtroom imagery. Mobile-optimized.
3 Credibility / About Snapshot Required Firm positioning statement, awards, years in practice, media logos, notable recognition. Keep tight — not the full About page.
4 Case Results / Wins Required Dollar amounts recovered, number of cases, notable verdicts. Bold and visual. Social proof is the #1 conversion driver for PI firms.
5 Attorney Quote / Guarantee Recommended Personal statement from lead attorney. Sets tone and builds trust. Can double as no-fee guarantee section.
6 Practice Areas Overview Required Visual grid or card layout. Prioritize by revenue and search volume — PI first. Each card links to hub page.
7 Contact Form Required Short, friction-free form. Name, phone, brief description. Prominent placement above the fold on mobile.
8 Office Locations / We Come to You Recommended Important for multi-location firms. Builds accessibility and trust. Map embed optional.
9 Testimonials Required Video testimonials preferred. Text reviews with star ratings acceptable. Rotate 3–5 featured.
10 Media / Press Logos Recommended "As Seen On" logo bar for attorney credibility. TV stations, publications, podcasts.
11 Blog Preview Recommended 3 most recent posts with thumbnail, title, date. Keeps homepage fresh for Google. Links to full blog.
12 FAQs Optional If included on homepage, use accordion/collapsible format. Consider placing on a dedicated FAQ page or within practice area pages instead.
13 Footer Required Full navigation, office addresses, phone numbers, social links, legal disclaimer, privacy policy link.
SEO Note: If the current site ranks well for key terms, be very cautious about changing existing URL structure, page titles, meta descriptions, or body copy on ranking pages. Preserve what's working. Any content changes on high-ranking pages should be reviewed against current keyword rankings first.

Design & Brand Standards

Typography

Strong, authoritative headline font (Antonio, Oswald, Montserrat Bold). Clean, readable body font (Source Sans, Open Sans, Lato). Google Fonts preferred for page speed.

Color Usage

Dominant brand color for headers, nav, and buttons. Accent color for CTAs and highlights. Near-black (#333) for body text. White or off-white backgrounds for readability.

Photography

Professional attorney headshots on consistent backgrounds. Office photos (interior and exterior). Lifestyle/case imagery. No stock photo clichés.

Logo Files

Vector SVG preferred. PNG with transparent background minimum. Must render cleanly on both dark and light backgrounds.

Technical Requirements

  • WordPress (WP Engine hosted)
  • SSL certificate (HTTPS active)
  • Rank Math Pro (SEO plugin)
  • WPForms (lead forms)
  • Google Analytics 4 + GTM
  • CallRail or call tracking
  • Live chat integration
  • CRM / intake system integration
  • WP Rocket or caching plugin
  • Cloudflare CDN
  • Mobile-first responsive layout
  • Core Web Vitals optimized
  • Schema markup (JSON-LD)
  • Google Business Profile linked
  • Wordfence or Sucuri security
  • Staging environment

SEO & Content Requirements

On-Page Checklist (Per Page)

Primary keyword in title, H1, first paragraph, and URL. Meta description 145–160 chars. H2/H3 with related keywords. Internal links. Image alt text. Schema markup. Canonical tags.

Content Length Targets

Homepage: 700–1,200 words. Practice area hub: 1,500–3,000 words. Subpage: 800–1,500 words. Blog post: 800–1,500 words. Attorney bio: 400–800 words.

Schema Markup Priority

LegalService on all practice pages. Attorney/Person on bio pages. FAQPage on FAQ sections. LocalBusiness in footer. BreadcrumbList on interior pages. Article on blog posts.

Assets Needed from Client

High-res logo, attorney headshots, office photos, case results, client testimonials, media logos, awards, hosting access, Google Analytics access, CRM credentials.

Part 2
Client Discovery Questionnaire

Please fill out the form below as completely as you can. The more detail you provide, the better we can build a site that works for your firm. There are no wrong answers.

Tell Us About Your Firm

This questionnaire takes about 10–15 minutes. Your answers go directly to the Patrick Marketing team and will inform every decision we make on your website.

1

Contact Information

Let's start with the basics.

2

About Your Firm

Help us understand your firm, your clients, and what makes you different.

3

Goals & Current Performance

Understanding where you are helps us build toward where you want to go.

4

Design & Visual Preferences

A great-looking site builds trust before a visitor reads a single word.

5

Content & Messaging

Great content is what turns a visitor into a client.

6

Technical & Integrations

This helps us plan the build and avoid surprises.

7

Assets Checklist

We'll follow up to collect files. For now, tell us what you have ready.

8

Timeline & Expectations

Let's set you up for a smooth process.

9

Anything Else?

This is your space — don't hold back.

✓ Thank You!

We received your questionnaire. A member of the Patrick Marketing team will review your answers and be in touch within 1–2 business days to schedule your kickoff call.

In the meantime, feel free to start gathering logo files, headshots, and brand assets — we'll need those early in the process. Email them to info@patrickmarketingny.com.

Fields marked * are required. All information is kept strictly confidential.