2013 amlaw 100 websites : ten foundational best practices research

2013 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices Research

Prepared for the ILTA Webinar

April 30, 2014

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FBPs Break Down into 3 Major Categories

1. Strategy• Communicating your message – strategy, brand and first impression /

who are you and why should I care?

• Site optimization and online awareness – site and content optimized/SEO strategy

2. Content• Lawyer biographies – relevant, current, SEO and human friendly

• Content (other than bios) – visitor/client focused, current and compelling. Multimedia

• Site “hygiene” and usability – browser compatibility, visitor page tools, spelling, nothing broken

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FBPs Break Down into 3 Major Categories

3. Features and Functionality• Graphics and design – bold branding design, strong imagery, consistency,

legibility, HTML5 instead of Flash

• Navigation – intuitive, descriptive and one-click

• Interactivity and social outreach – dynamic, interactive and Web 2.0, leveraging all Internet content

• Site search – relevant, multiple search tools and easy finding

• Mobility – specially designed mobile site; intuitive, device-specific user interface, interactive map and location features

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Foundational Best Practice #1

Communicating your Message1. Clear and differentiating positioning strategy – 39.1

2. Practice and industry focus are apparent – 81.2

3. Geographic reach is apparent (1 office or 40) – 98.3

4. Contact information is clear and easy to find - 93

5. Site features or links to foreign language translations – 47.8

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AmLaw 100 Average: 72.6 – Barely Good

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Wsgr.com – 1 of 7 to Score 100

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Graphics and Design1. Bold, branded layout style, grid and use of white space -

83

2. The site uses CSS@FONT-FACE web fonts to further branding design - 73

3. Strong imagery reinforces the brand and is fresh and unique. It effectively advances the story about what the firm does - 76

4. Site makes good use of HTML5 instead of FLASH - 73

5. Site is optimized for = or > than 1024 pixel screen resolution - 80

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AmLaw 100 Average: 77 – Good

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Goodwinprocter.com – Winner for FBP 2

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Navigation1. Global and local nav styles are consistent – visitor

doesn’t have to relearn new styles throughout the site – 93.8

2. Global nav uses mega-menus/cascading nav that gives visitors 1-click access – 34.6

3. Easy to navigate across multiple devices – smart phones, tablets, desktops – 67.6

4. Cross-linking promotes horizontal travel from one section of the site to the next – 87.7

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AmLaw 100 Average: 70.9 – Fair

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Kramerlevin.com - #1 in Navigation

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Lawyer Bios1. First 150 characters of the bio are current, compelling and relevant

for SEO benefit – 772. Overview paragraph – first 2-3 sentences are descriptive of the work

the lawyer does and the types of clients the lawyer represents – 843. Bio does not use Mr. or Ms. Lastname throughout – it uses the lawyer’s

first or nickname – 354. Current photos that convey personality – 875. Full contact info is easy to find and links to v-card – 996. Bio includes links to social media profiles and pages – 327. Bios list and crosslink to practices/ industries, articles/ news/ events -

848. Bios include detailed experience and matter lists – 749. The page technology supports elegant content organization that

enables visitors to quickly scan and access what they want? (e.g., Ajax, jquery, javascript) – 93

10.Associates have full biographies – 88

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AmLaw 100 Average: 75.3 – Good

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Jones Day Bios Scored 100

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Content (Other than Bios)1. Visitor-focused has consistent language use and is specific - 772. Content is organized intuitively, by services and expertise clients buy, not how the

firm is organized - 633. Practices and industries are broken out separately. Geographic regions is a bonus

option - 584. Descriptions include experience specifics, including client names or descriptions

of clients - 685. Video and multimedia content is available, and is relevant and current - 376. News/press pages are current and written for maximum PR benefit - 787. Publications / articles / events are well organized and are easily sorted by topic

and author / speaker - 758. Site has a statement of core values - 559. Site illustrates firm’s commitment to diversity - 9510.Charitable and civic commitment is described and evident - 8111.Pro bono commitment is described in detail, highlighting stories and specific

matters - 91

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Sutherland Practice Descriptions - InfoGraphics

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Interactivity and Social Outreach1. Client extranet is offered and accessible - 43

2. RSS feeds throughout the site - 61

3. Alumni center or link to alumni page on LinkedIn or Facebook - 63

4. Newsletter subscribe feature and other info sign-up - 64

5. Links to firm/lawyer blogs on home page, bio, practice and other relevant pages - 51

6. Offers educational Webinars and podcasts - 48

7. The site links to social media sites and has an active and current presence on these sites - 51

8. Share functionality is present throughout the site - 34

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AmLaw 100 Average: 52 – Barely Fair

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Barnesthornburg.com – Scored 100

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Site Search1. Site offers full-site keyword search - 100

2. Advanced search link appears on all pages and enables visitors to narrow or refine the search in multiple ways – 16

3. Search results are clear and well organized: Most relevant categories appear first – 59

4. Utilizes modern search technology features: type-ahead / predictive, “did you mean,” highlighting of search terms in annotated results, exact phrase – 16

5. Site offers multiple searches, including detailed lawyer search, news /publications / articles / events searches, law school alumni search in careers – 82

6. Site offers a separate experience search – 24

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AmLaw 100 Average: 49.2 – Poor

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Cozen.com – Top Scorer in Site Search

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Site Optimization and Online Awareness1. Online Awareness: backlinks, link popularity and PageRank for landing

and details pages – 72

2. Strong, properly structured HTML content on the home page and interior (H1, H2, H3 etc. for headings and subheadings, doc type, no image-based navigation or other text, etc.) – 67

3. Data feeds from external sources (blogs, social media, videos, etc.) – 28

4. HTML sitemaps are present and include all pages organized hierarchically – 77

5. Smart URLS with appropriate syntax used in all sections - 64

6. Metatags, page titles, keywords and meta-description are correctly used and placed, and utilized throughout site - 38

7. Images have alt tags that provide alternative text when images can’t be displayed – 36

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MoFo.com ranked “Good” in SEO

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Mobility

1. Does the firm have a true mobile site? – 34.5

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AmLaw 100 Average: 34.5 – Poor

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QuinnEmanuel.com – Mobile Scored 100

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Site “Hygiene” and Usability1. Site perfectly functions on all modern browsers – IE7 and

newer, Chrome, Safari and Firefox – 88

2. Ability to collect and bind PDFs together – 11

3. No error pages are found on spot check – 99

4. No broken links or images are evident with spot check – 97

5. Pages print and email easily – 81

6. Site offers dynamic print to PDF option on most pages – 53

7. Copy and content have been checked for spelling and grammar – 87

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AmLaw 100 Average: 73.7 – Good

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WilsonElser.com – 1 of 5 Firms to Score 100

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2013 AmLaw 100 Websites – Total Scores

Totals based on 99 firms

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2013 AmLaw 100 Websites – Top 25 Firms

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Content Pilot Contact

Deborah McMurrayContent Pilot [email protected] Firm 4.0 BlogTwitter: @contentpilot

Thank you!

mailto:[email protected]

http://lawfirm4-0.typepad.com/

2013 amlaw 100 websites : ten foundational best practices research

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