These are some of the top design mistakes we have seen when working with clients to help them with their law firm’s new website. They aren’t steadfast rules, but they hold up about 90% of the time.
1. Too many images – distracting
Pictures and graphics on a site are nice and they can help convey a message to the user. However, too many of them can send a mixed message or just distract the user from what your site is all about – your law firm helping them.
If you are unsure that your site has too many pictures, ask a friend to take a look at just one of your pages and ask them what message they are receiving. If they can’t tell you quickly or if the message is directly related to a picture and not the content of the page, you probably have too many images.
2. Content hidden below the fold
In the world of design the term “above the fold” or “below the fold” refers to what the user sees right away without having to scroll down. Anything the user sees immediately without scrolling down is above the fold. The term comes from newspapers. The next time you pass a news paper vending machine or a news stand, look at how the papers are displayed to you. They are folded, with the most eye catching images and stories above the fold. This is done to help real you in. If your most appealing content is hiding below the fold, your users won’t dig in deeper to find out more about your law practice.
