Developing a website is like buying a car. You must go through your due diligence to research the “brand” or company that offers websites. You should pick a company that knows what works for your type of business – enter Attorneys Online – we’ve been handling law firm marketing for over 9 years (it’s what we do best). But I digress…once you pick a company you have to research the different types of websites available. You can pick a basic website (similar to a virtual brochure) or a more in depth one which we call a “customized website” (this would have a unique branded look, some fancy elements to it like flash). Making this type of decision is similar to picking the type of car you’d like – a small economic car that gets you from A to B quickly or you can get a little more luxurious car that has an extra feature here and there to enjoy the ride. 

If you decide that a customized website is what your firm needs then you come to a number of other choices that can be answered through some simple questions like: 

  1. How often do you plan to update this new website – once or twice a month? (or once a year) 

  2. Do you have a lot of information such as 30+ pages of content you’d like to add and manipulate to stay current? 

If you think you plan to make regular updates to your site after it launches it may be more cost effective to consider adding a great back end tool to your law firm website: A database. If you have a lot of information to add to your site, creating a database may also be the best choice for your firm. Although database programs can cost more upfront, in the long run the cost and convenience of being able to make updates to your site in-house will even out. Making website updates after a launch is normally billed by the hour and this can add up if you have changes to make regularly. 

Adding a database to your website is not like adding a moon roof to your car – it’s like upgrading to a better engine…or maybe even a better car. Attorneys Online provides user friendly databases that can help keep our clients websites up to date. If you decide that a database is right for you then it is important to think about all the capabilities and tools you would like to have available. Discussing your “wish list” for the database in the beginning can make the whole process go smoother. 

The important thing to remember about this nifty feature is that adding a database is a completely separate process from design. So if you order one you must be patient while it is built specifically to your law firm’s marketing needs. Think of your database as a Rolls Royce. It is custom built to your needs and this kind of beauty takes time! If you tell us what you want you end up with the kind site you are happy with so you can enjoy the ride! 

Attorneys Online, Inc offers free consultations for law firm marketing – if you are interested in learning more about our law firm website designs and database program contact our law firm marketing consultants today.