A friend of mine in the legal services field told me that she didn’t think she needed a website. She was too busy to do it herself, and she didn’t know where to go to get it done for her, other than those spammers who call or email with big promises and no accountability.
Even though I could have created an effective website for her, I thought she might be right that she didn’t need one. She had a few decades under her belt in her field and had more work than she could keep up with.
Although the top practitioners of every profession have a website at the center of their client communications, it’s certainly true that not everyone needs one. Here are five reasons you may not need a professional website for your practice.
1. You Don’t Need to Build Your Practice
For an attorney nearing retirement, enough work is enough work. If that’s where you are in your career, you probably don’t need to upgrade your website.
On the other hand, if you’re still trying to build long-term stability and sustainability to your income, a professional website will help you do that.
2. You Don’t Need to Expand Your Clientele
Maybe you’re a corporate employee or a contractor with a long-term position with one or a couple of clients. If you can depend on those clients for your bread and butter over the long term, you probably don’t need a website.
On the other hand, if it would upset your lifestyle for one or a handful of clients to die, go out of business, change providers or no longer need your services, you probably want a stream of clients coming through your door. A professional website can help you.
3. You Have Enough Work from Referrals
Word of mouth is the most powerful means of acquiring new clients. The only problem with it is that it is such a time-intensive endeavor. But if you have already built such a strong network of personal contacts constantly sending clients your way, you may not need a website.
On the other hand, if you would like to spend more time on your practice — or even on vacation — and less time cultivating clients face to face, your website can be helping you with that. A lot.
4. Someone Else Handles Your Marketing
Attorneys working with large law firms have the advantage of the firm’s marketing efforts. No doubt, it will include a firm website among a number of other initiatives. In that case, you don’t need to have a professional website for yourself.
If you are a member of a small firm or a solo practitioner, your website is more important for you than for most lawyers.
5. You Don’t Need to Optimize Your Marketing Investment
Maybe there’s someone who has a bottomless marketing budget. No matter what you do to get out the word about your services, a professional website can give people a place to go to learn more about you, to discover your specialties and competence, and to learn how to contact you.
If by chance you don’t fit these categories, let me help you develop a website that will work for you full time.
Leave a Reply