A law firm website is two things at once: a sales asset that has to convert an anxious visitor into a call, and a regulated attorney advertisement governed by the professional conduct rules of the state where the lawyer practises. Most design proposals price the first and never mention the second. That is a problem, because the responsibility for a rule breach sits with the lawyer, not the designer. This page covers what the design job actually includes, what Google publishes about the technical qualities that affect how a site performs in search, and the review a firm should run before a site goes live.
What the design purchase actually includes
A firm site has a small number of jobs and a designer should be able to name them back to you. It has to make clear within seconds what the firm does, where it practises and who to call. It has to give each practice area a page substantial enough to answer the questions a prospective client actually has, since Google's guidance on people-first content asks whether the material provides original information, reporting, research or analysis, and whether it is presented in a way that makes you want to trust it with clear sourcing and evidence of the expertise involved. It has to be maintainable, so that a partner can publish without a change request. And it has to carry the compliance furniture the state rules require. Anything sold as a template plus a logo is skipping at least two of those.
The technical qualities Google actually documents
Google publishes what it means by page experience and is careful about how much it claims. There is no single page experience signal; its core ranking systems look at a variety of signals that align with overall page experience, and Core Web Vitals are used by those ranking systems. Google also says that good results in the reports do not guarantee that pages will rank at the top, and that Search always seeks to show the most relevant content even where page experience is sub-par. The practical shape of that for a firm site is unglamorous: serve it over HTTPS, make it display well on mobile devices, avoid intrusive interstitials, and keep ad and pop-up density from distracting readers. Ask a designer to commit to those in the specification rather than as an optimisation to be sold later.
A law firm site is a regulated communication
Attorney advertising rules vary by state and your own bar's version controls, so treat the following as an example of the shape rather than as advice. Under the Texas rules, a lawyer must not make or sponsor a false or misleading communication about the qualifications or services of a lawyer or law firm; a statement is misleading if it is substantially likely to create unjustified expectations about the results the lawyer can achieve. Texas Rule 7.02 requires that an advertisement of legal services publish the name of a lawyer responsible for the content and identify that lawyer's primary practice location, and it restricts claims of special competence to lawyers certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization or an accredited organisation. Contingent fee advertising has to make clear whether the client will be obligated to pay other expenses such as the costs of litigation. This is general information and not legal advice; check your state's rules before publishing.
Testimonials, results and the federal layer
Two rulebooks apply to the results and reviews a firm puts on its own site. The state conduct rules govern statements likely to create unjustified expectations about outcomes, which is why past-result copy usually needs qualifying language. Federal advertising rules apply on top: the FTC's endorsement guidance requires that material connections between an advertiser and an endorser be clearly disclosed, that performance claims reflect what consumers can generally expect, and it holds advertisers accountable for what endorsers say on their behalf. A designer who drops a testimonial slider into the homepage without asking who collected the quotes and on what terms has handed the firm a compliance problem dressed as a design element.
How to test a design firm before you commit
Ask for three live sites the firm built for lawyers and open each one on a phone. Check that the responsible lawyer and practice location appear as the state rules require, that practice area pages are real pages rather than stubs, and that the contact path is obvious without scrolling. Ask who writes the copy, because a design contract that assumes you supply words is a different price from one that includes legal writing. Ask what happens after launch: who applies security updates, who owns the domain and hosting account, and what an ordinary content change costs. Get the answers in the statement of work. A firm that cannot name its own past clients on its own website is asking you to take the strongest part of its pitch on trust.
Questions people ask about lawyer website design
Does my firm's website count as attorney advertising?
In general, state conduct rules treat communications about a lawyer's services as advertising, and rules such as Texas Rule 7.02 require an advertisement to name the responsible lawyer and identify their primary practice location. The details vary by state, so check your own bar's rules; this is general information, not legal advice.
Will a faster site rank my firm higher?
Not on its own. Google says there is no single page experience signal, that Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems, and that good scores do not guarantee top rankings. Speed and mobile display are hygiene worth specifying; they are not a ranking purchase.
Can we advertise past case results?
Carefully and by your state's rules. Texas prohibits statements substantially likely to create unjustified expectations about the results a lawyer can achieve, and federal endorsement guidance requires performance claims to reflect what consumers can generally expect. Have your own bar's rules checked before publishing results copy.
Should the same firm do design and SEO?
It can work, but insist on evidence for each separately: sites they have built and search work they have published. Google's hiring guidance also warns against anyone claiming a special relationship with Google or guaranteeing a #1 ranking, whichever service they are selling.