Are you a small law firm owner planning to get your website done? If so, you’re probably wondering about potential costs. Having your website is one of the best internet marketing tools you can have to ensure that your clients will learn about you and the legal services you offer. Because we know that small law firms don’t have the same financial capacity as large enterprises, we’re providing you an overview of how much you should invest without draining your resources.
The Price Range
Building your law firm’s website can range from as low as $100 if you decide on a basic DIY site to as high as over $6,000 if you want a custom-designed site made by big-name professionals, plus the costs of maintaining the site. Between doing it yourself and outsourcing the task using digital marketing experts, the final cost of your legal website depends on how much you’re willing to spend to save time, and what your projected return-on-investment (ROI) is for the work.
Website Costs Broken Down
Below are the different areas you’ll need to consider when preparing your financial budget. While some areas are negotiable, the first few ones are necessary if you want to advertise your legal firm.
Domain. Your legal business’ domain name refers to the address that your potential clients can use to reach you. Examples are “wordpress-290765-1819913.cloudwaysapps.com” or “Google.com”. Getting a domain that is a good fit for your brand name can cost you an average of $15 annually. Generally, the higher the search volume directed to your chosen name, the more organic traffic you can get, the higher the price you’ll have to pay.
A word of caution: don’t immediately settle for free domains. Always ask about the conditions for the free offer as you may end up paying more for hosting services or having unwanted ads on your site.
Already have a domain? Boost your domain authority, capture more leads, and grow your business by working with our law firm marketing agency.
Hosting. After having your digital address, the next thing on your “to buy” list is a hosting service that can make your site available across the globe. Costs can range from as low as $10 to as high as $100 every year depending on how much website traffic you get or if you have a shared server.
Some examples of sites that offer hosting plans are GoDaddy Inc. and Bluehost.
Site Security. Purchasing a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate for your main site means having an extra layer of security to ward off hackers or potential stealers of client confidential data. SSL certificates can get as low as a few dollars a year and this is one area where you can opt not to spend hundreds of dollars unless you have a lot of client data to deal with your attorney site, unlike eCommerce sites.
Website Design & development. For a custom-design law firm website, you will probably need anywhere between $1,500 – $8,000 or even more. Wow! Should you consider spending on your new website? Regardless of the high upfront fees, investing here yields a high ROI since this is your main means to attract and engage potential leads.
But while most digital marketing agencies and web designers charge a huge fee to create your custom website, Advantage Attorney, a marketing company for lawyers, law firms, and legal professionals, offer a free law firm website for its clients.
If you’re opting for a DIY solution and have the design and technical skills to build one, use a web builder tool like WordPress. However, keep in mind that even if this move will save you money, there are accompanying risks. First, you’ll have limits on page customization. Second, there are still fees to pay to purchase the tool. And third, without a web developer, you won’t be able to test your client experience from the time they arrive on your landing page to the moment they leave the site.
Content Management. Beautiful websites with catchy domain names don’t bring in new leads without quality content. When you build your site, everything you put in represents who you are as a lawyer or law firm. The cost comes in when you decide to get photographers to give you visually-appealing pictures for about $30 each, or find websites to purchase stock photos for about the same price. You’ll also need copywriters who can help your site achieve a high Google ranking using search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. They usually charge per word (for around 20 cents) which means around $16 for an 800-word page.
You’re always free to write your page and blogs but again, if you want more time saved and still have a good ROI, this is a good investment for your online presence.
Web maintenance. Let’s say you have an existing site with a good amount of content. Great! But the work and cost do not end there. You expect recurrent costs when you register a domain name, avail of web-hosting, and pay for security. But what most lawyers, who create their professional website, fail to see is that website maintenance should also be a recurring cost.
Maintaining your website is not just about fixing bugs or cleaning malware. It involves regularly publishing articles to attract potential customers, responding to email and form submissions on the site, monitoring and tracking visitor behavior on your site, and making small improvements.
If you plan to build your website without a website builder, you should invest in third-party agencies to handle your security updates and backups. The maintenance cost would be around $40 monthly.
Added Value for Lawyer Websites
Not every digital agency or social media expert has worked with law firms in the past. Majority work with eCommerce businesses or enterprises and may not fully understand your needs.
Some web development agencies may offer you all the other services outlined above but for an additional fee. This is where finding the right law firm marketing & technology partner becomes crucial.
Whenever possible, look for a web and design agency that has the following on top of the ones outlined above:
- Strategic pricing package based on what you need
- Clear data reporting
- Integration with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
- Proven results
- Positive law firm marketing client reviews
- Reviews Management
- Content Management (optimized pages and articles)
- 24/7 Live Chat
With Advantage Attorney Marketing, you get ALL of these services in your package. Small law firms like you only need to pay for your domain name. We design, build, and host small law firm websites for our clients for free, and offer you more added value.
What’s more, our pricing is usually about 30-40% less than our competitors. Already know what services you need and want? Contact us today to know more.
