Having a professional website is a must for all law practices, but solo attorneys can sometimes face an uphill battle when it comes to creating a great website. It can seem impossible to compete against big firms with endless resources.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. With some knowledge, solo lawyers can put together a website that goes toe-to-toe with giant law firms.
Take this attorney website that Rankings.io redesigned for a personal injury law firm in New York City:
 An attorney in The Bronx's local map rankings two days before and three weeks after a total redesign.
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Their old website couldn't compete with other firms in the area, and people couldn't find it in Google Maps. The site only appeared in local search results close to the office.
It's a different story after we rebuilt the site following the same principles we talk about below. The site now ranks well in a much larger part of one of the most competitive cities in the country.
We put together this list of the best solo law firm website designs to show you how you can create an attorney website that helps you:
- Stand out from competitors
- Build a solid and enduring brand
- Communicate clearly with your ideal potential clients
- Convert those potential clients into new cases
We've used highly selective criteria to put this list together and broken down each example on our list so that we can show solo practitioners what designs work and why they work.
Cody Warner, P.C.
Home Page
The most important thing to get right with your home page is your headline. It’s the first thing website visitors will see when they land on a webpage, and they’ll use that first impression to decide if they’ve landed on the right page or if they need to go back to Google to find another lawyer.
A good headline captures visitors’ attention by making it obvious what you do, who you do it for, and uses client-focused copy to establish a connection with the visitor.
Solo criminal defense attorney Cody Warner’s headline sets the tone right away. “Let’s Take Care of It” makes it clear to his visitors that he takes a collaborative approach to criminal defense. It implies that his clients don’t have to go it alone. They get a partner that gets things done and works with them as a teammate.
He follows up his headline with a statement that makes it clear what type of legal service he provides.
Besides the headline, the rest of the home page above the fold (before the visitor scrolls down the page) is good. It’s distraction-free and has a professional photograph of the attorney.
Even the picture plays well with Warner’s “team player” branding. He’s not sitting behind a big desk in a cramped office. Instead, in his solo law firm marketing materials, he’s in front of a bright window, seated at a conference table that’s just waiting for a new client to pull up a chair and get to work.
The first thing the reader sees after scrolling past the headline is a contact form. Placing the form here is ideal because it allows potential clients to reach out as soon as possible instead of scrolling through the whole page looking for a way to contact the attorney.
The form is as simple as can be, which reduces the chances of people abandoning the form midway through. The only thing that could be improved here is simplifying the language on the fourth line of the form.
The phrase “Brief Case Description” may be too jargon-heavy for some clients. They may misunderstand what they should put in that field.
Using something like “Tell Me About Your Case” or even “What Can I Help You With?” may be more personable and easier for people to understand.
The rest of Cody Warner’s home page is full of the standard features of the best attorney websites. He has testimonials from past clients, sections that explain what he does for the people he represents, and links to his practice area pages.
That’s not to say that everything is perfect on this homepage. One thing that would improve it would be by adding more calls to action.
A phone button at the top of the screen scrolls with the visitor. Potential clients can click to call the firm at any time, but it’s easy to miss. And other than the contact form, there aren’t many ways to reach out for a consultation.
Adding a contact button at the beginning of the page and to the navigation bar might help this attorney increase the number of people contacting him for help.
Contact Page
The contact page on this website is good but could use some improvement. A map feature above the fold shows the firm's location, and the address is written out below the map.
What’s most important here is that the phone number is on the page and that users can click it to call. It’s at the bottom of the viewport and just looks like a standard link.
This attorney might see more calls from this page if there was more distinction and emphasis on the phone number link.
The contact form is below the fold, and users must scroll to it to schedule a consultation. If this firm does not get a lot of walk-in visitors from this page, they might consider reorganizing the page so that the map is below the form.
Service Pages
The service pages on this website have a lot of useful information, but some changes could make things better for users.
A vital law firm web design concept is that most people consume information on the web by skimming to decide if it’s worth the read. The harder it is to skim, the harder it is to get potential customers’ attention.
The service pages are informative, but the fact that they’re long walls of text makes it difficult for readers to skim, especially on mobile browsers.
An easy fix would be to break the paragraphs into more readable chunks.
These service pages are also rather long. That’s not a bad thing—providing visitors with the information they want is great—but the only time the page prompts the reader to contact the attorney is at the bottom of a long page.
Adding a call to action in the middle of the page or using a pop-in feature may prompt more readers to contact the firm.
An element that you don’t see very often on solo attorney websites is videos that cover the topic at hand.
This attorney has gone above and beyond the standard attorney service page by including a relevant video. Making a video like this doesn't take a ton of time, and it can help you get your personality and experience across to visitors in ways that writing can't always do.
Blog Posts
The blog on this website has some great ideas that could be improved with minimal effort. The content is informative and useful, but there are some technical issues to address.
Some blog posts include short, simple videos the attorney shot at his desk. He uses the article as the script, resulting in a read-through of the blog post.
With just a few minutes effort, Warner created an asset that gets the attention of people who tend to watch rather than read.
On the other hand, the video is cut in half on mobile browsers, leading to a poor user experience. It looks perfect on a desktop computer, but mobile users are out of luck.
The website developers could make one change to the blog post template and videos would look fine on mobile.
The content on the blog is good, but just like with the service pages, there’s still the “wall of text” effect. Breaking up the paragraphs could help improve readability here.
Overall, Cody Warner’s website is an excellent example for solo lawyers building their own sites. The home page copy is user- and conversion-focused, service pages and blog posts are useful and informative, and the inclusion of video features is an added benefit.
The site already stands out from the competition, but with a few technical fixes to blog posts, some user experience improvements, and some additional calls to action, this site would be an all-time great.
The Law Office of Ross D. Gardner
Home Page
The Law Office of Ross D. Gardner opens with a headline that tells the reader what he stands for but doesn’t tell them what he does.
If someone were to read the phrase “Client-Centric Representation” in a vacuum, they would be able to tell you that Gardner puts clients first but not what kind of clients he serves.
Fortunately, the paragraph under the headline helps clarify who Gardner helps.
This headline would only need a minor adjustment to speak to potential clients.
Ross D. Gardner practices business, real estate, and probate law. If he wanted to focus on one of those practice areas, his headline could be “Client-Centric Representation for Entrepreneurs” or “Client-Centric Representation for Estate Planning.”
Besides a slight change to the headline, the home page has a good layout above the fold. The most important thing to note here is that there’s an obvious call to action before a user ever has to scroll down the page.
This "Schedule an Appointment" button allows users to get in touch with Gardner immediately instead of searching for a contact form and possibly getting frustrated along the way.
One final thing to note about the home page is that there is a contact bar feature at the bottom of the screen that scrolls the users.
This is a nice touch that gives the reader a few different options to contact the firm no matter where they are on any page.
Contact Page
The contact page shows that the attorney put a lot of thought into his target audience's needs before putting it together.
Since Garner works with businesses, the first thing the users see on this page is a Calendly scheduling widget rather than a contact form. This allows business clients to use a familiar tool to find and schedule a time that works best for them on the attorney’s calendar.
After the Calendly widget, the page still gives users the contact information they need to find the business on a map and reach them by phone.
David Bryant Law
Home Page
Solo attorney David Bryant’s homepage opens with a headline that tells the user exactly what he does and where he does it.
It’s not the most flashy headline, but it’s immediately followed by a paragraph that tells potential clients what kind of service they can expect from the attorney.
By looking at the two largest pieces of text at the top of the screen, it’s obvious to the user that Bryant is a PI lawyer who works in Louisville and is committed to working hard to keep his clients informed every step of the way as their case progresses.
Before users scroll down the page, they see a bright blue button that offers them their first opportunity to contact the attorney.
There are a few notable things about this button that make it more useful than most “contact us” buttons on other lawyer websites.
The color of the button makes it stand out against the dark background. It doesn’t clash with the site’s color scheme, but it still has the most “pop” of all the elements above the fold.
The size and placement of the button make it clear that this is the action the reader should take. Other than the headline, this is the second most prominent element on the screen. It’s impossible to miss.
If the user reads the headline and the text above the fold, they already have the information they need to decide if David Bryant is the choice for them. Placing the contact button above the fold means that visitors never waste time looking for a way to get help.
The copy on the button gives visitors a final push toward scheduling a consultation. The button assures them that their message goes to David, not an unknown “us.”
This site uses an unobtrusive chat widget in the lower right corner of the screen.
Chat functionality can be useful for solo attorneys. They provide an additional opportunity for potential clients to convert into actual clients.
But many websites use chat in ways that frustrate users. Chat widgets that pop up unexpectedly or block the text on the screen could make users decide your site is more trouble than it’s worth.
On David Bryant’s website, the button stays collapsed and out of the way so that users can initiate a conversation whenever they want. It also scrolls with the user so they can contact Bryant anywhere on the page.
One last feature above the fold is a contact button in the navigation menu at the top of the screen. It also follows the visitor as they scroll.
Before the user begins moving down the page, they’ve already read this attorney’s value proposition, understand what types of cases he takes, and have had three different ways to get in touch.
The first section that the user scrolls to dig a little deeper into David Bryant’s value proposition for his clients.
There are two important things to note about this section: the formatting and the language itself.
First, the text formatting across the site is skimmable. Readers who land on this page can get the gist without stopping to parse a huge wall of text.
Second, the language in this section is an excellent example of people-first copy.
David Bryant talks about his skills and experience, but the language speaks to what he can do for “you,” how he can help “you,” and how he is there for “you” every step of the way.
The rest of this homepage covers the standard things you expect on an attorney’s website. It has sections devoted to practice areas, results, and links to blog posts and other resources.
Blog Post
The text on the blog posts follows the best practices for formatting.
The font is clear, and the line spacing improves readability. It’s also broken up into short paragraphs so that readers can skim and skip to the section they want to read.
What stands out the most about the blog posts on this website is the collapsed table of contents feature that’s included on every page.
Tables of contents aren’t unusual in blog posts. It’s another feature that helps readers navigate through an article to the section of their choosing.
The reason this table of contents stands out is that it’s on the mobile version of this website.
Most of the time, a table of contents feature can only be found on the desktop version. Making it work on mobile requires custom coding that takes time and effort to do right.
Gilormo Injury Law
Home Page
Gilormo Injury Law’s headline gives visitors a value proposition to mull over, but it could be more client-focused.
Think about how many times you’ve seen phrases like “Fierce Advocates, Proven Results” on your peer’s websites and marketing material. Potential clients see that language all the time too, and it starts to lose its meaning.
Other than that, this homepage is an excellent example of a solo attorney design. It’s organized, aesthetically pleasing, and has a video introducing attorney Amber Gilormo and her services to visitors.
At the top of the screen, there’s a navigation bar that moves with the reader as they scroll, giving them the option to place a call to the firm regardless of where they are on the page.
This site uses a live chat plugin that sits at the bottom of the screen on mobile devices and moves down the page as the reader scrolls.
On the site's desktop version, a chat window pops up in the right corner of the screen, but it doesn't get in the way of the content. On mobile, the live chat feature is unobtrusive and only opens if the user taps on it to start talking with someone at the firm.
A crucial detail to note about live chat here is that this site uses a picture of attorney Amber Gilormo as the avatar instead of using a default stock photo. This could make users more likely to begin chatting because they feel their speaking with the attorney and not just an anonymous person.
Contact Page
The contact page on this site follows the industry standard. There’s a phone number above the fold, then a map with the address pinned, and a contact form at the bottom of the page.
This contact page is good, but it could be improved by eliminating some dead space at the top. Removing the gap between the photo and the second heading on the page would allow the firm to place its address and phone number in a prominent position.
How We Chose These Websites
We looked at hundreds of small law firm websites with just one attorney to find the best examples. Each has room for improvement in some places, but they all follow the same best practices for an attorney website.
The criteria that we judged these websites on included:
The site has a clear and easy-to-understand purpose. We looked for websites with simple, client-focused copy that the average person could understand. Websites that ditch the jargon and put their prospective clients’ needs first made the cut.
The site is easy for visitors to navigate. In an ideal world, a user comes to a page on your website and takes the action you’d expect—such as contacting you—but sometimes that user wants to look around before committing to anything. We looked for websites that make it easy for visitors to find the information they need.
The site makes it easy for users to convert. Websites that provide visitors with ample opportunities to contact the firm have a better chance of converting people into clients. We looked for websites that made it easy for visitors to reach out—whether by email, phone, or chat—without bombarding them with distracting calls to action.
The site’s designers paid attention to detail on mobile. The majority of traffic on the internet comes from users on mobile devices, and mobile-first design has been a best practice for a long time. Websites that did not have a great mobile experience were not considered. We looked for sites that paid attention to mobile users’ needs, from text size to chat widget placement to custom-designed elements.
Great Web Design is Just the First Step
Investing in a modern website design is a great choice for solo attorneys who want to build their firms, but it’s just the beginning if you want to get your name out there and grow your client base.
Having a professional website means having a central place where potential clients can reach you for your help.
Getting them to that website is a different story.
With a new site up and running, solo attorneys can generate leads through things like word of mouth, social media marketing, PPC advertising, or search engine optimization for lawyers. The path that you choose depends on your goals and the attorney marketing strategy that makes the most sense for your business.
