What good web design for law firms looks like
Good web design for law firms starts from the visitor's state of mind. Someone looking for a lawyer is rarely relaxed. They were just served papers, or arrested, or hurt, or they are watching a parent's health decline and wondering about a will. They type a plain question into a phone, and the firm whose page answers that question clearly, in plain English, gets the call.
A law firm site also has rules that a plumber's site does not. Lawyer advertising is regulated by each state, the American Bar Association's Model Rules shape most of those state rules, and a careless contact form can create obligations you never meant to take on. We build with those rules in mind, and we leave the final word on compliance to you and your ethics counsel, because we are web designers, not lawyers.
Dominion Web Design Pro is run by Maurice Johnson in Big Sandy, Texas. He writes every page by hand for the firm in front of him, and a firm can look at a free demo before spending anything.
Practice-area pages do the heavy lifting
A single "Practice Areas" page with eight bullet points tells a visitor what you do. It does not help them find you. People search for the problem they have: "what happens at a first DWI hearing," "do I need a lawyer to probate a small estate," "how long does a divorce take in my county." A page for each practice area, and sometimes for each common question within it, gives each of those searches somewhere to land.
Each practice-area page we write explains, in general terms, how that kind of matter usually works, what a person should gather before a consultation, and how to reach you. It does not promise outcomes, and it carries a short note that general information is not legal advice.
Lawyer advertising rules a website has to live with
This is the background we write against. It is not legal advice, and your state's current rules and your own counsel control.
ABA Model Rule 7.1
The Model Rule says a lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services. The rule counts a communication as misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law, or omits a fact needed to make the whole statement not materially misleading. Its comments add that truthfully reported results can still mislead if they are presented so that a reasonable person would expect the same outcome in their own matter. Most states have adopted a version of it, sometimes with additions, so your state's text is the one that counts.
Texas: content rules and filing
In Texas, the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct govern lawyer advertising. Rules 7.01 through 7.03 set out the definitions and the content rules for communications, and Rule 7.04 requires certain advertisements to be filed with the State Bar's Advertising Review Committee no later than ten days after they are first disseminated. Rule 7.05(b) exempts information posted on a law firm website except the homepage contents, unless another exemption applies. The whole website still has to follow the content rules.
What that means for how we write: no superlatives we cannot back up, no comparisons with other lawyers, no promised results, and no reviews or case outcomes we made up. If your rules require a specific disclosure, a responsible-attorney name or a filing, tell Maurice and it goes on the site the way your counsel words it.
The intake form problem, and how we handle it
The contact form is where a law firm website can create real trouble. The ABA's Formal Opinion 10-457 on lawyer websites explains that a site which simply lists contact information generally does not start a prospective-client relationship, but a site that specifically invites people to submit information about a possible matter can. Once that happens, the firm may owe duties to that person, and what they send could even affect whether the firm can represent someone on the other side.
So the forms we build for firms are deliberately short:
- Name, phone, email and the best time to call
- A general topic chosen from a list (for example family law, estate planning, criminal defense), not a free-text "tell us everything" box
- A clear notice right beside the form, worded by you or your counsel, saying that submitting it does not create an attorney-client relationship and asking people not to send confidential details yet
- A link to your privacy policy
- Leads emailed straight to the inbox you choose
The same caution applies to a chat widget. If you add the AI chat on the Pro package, it is set up to collect a name and number and point people to call, not to take down the facts of their case.
Attorney bios that read like a person
After the practice-area page, the attorney bio is often the most visited page on a small firm's site. People want to know who they will actually sit across from. A good bio says where you practice, which courts you appear in, what kinds of matters you handle, bar admissions, education, and a little about why you do this work.
What it leaves out: claims of specialization your state does not allow you to make, invented honors, and anything you cannot document. The ABA Model Rules limit when a lawyer may claim a specialist certification, and states set their own versions of that limit. If you hold a recognized specialty credential, you tell us exactly how the issuing body says to describe it.
Location pages for the courthouses you work in
People often search with a place in mind: "divorce lawyer in Smith County," "probate attorney Tyler," "criminal defense near Longview." A firm that appears in several courthouses can give each of those places its own page, written about how matters tend to move there and who the firm serves in that area, not the same paragraph with the county name changed.
Those pages have to follow the same advertising rules as the rest of the site. They should not suggest an office where you have none, and they should not imply results. If you meet clients only at your main office or by video, the page says so. Pro includes ten researched city pages; on Agency, keyword research decides which location and practice pairings are worth writing at all, so you are not paying for pages nobody searches for.
A page plan for a small or solo firm
| Page | Purpose | Package |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Who you help, where, and how to reach you; in Texas, the page that generally falls under the filing rule | All |
| Practice-area pages | One per area, written for the questions people search | Starter covers a few; Pro and Agency cover more |
| Attorney bios | One per lawyer, documented facts only | All |
| Your first consultation | What to bring, how long it takes, how fees are discussed | Pro and Agency |
| City or county pages | Searches with a place name, written for each courthouse town you serve | Pro (10), Agency (by keyword research) |
| Contact | The careful intake form and a tap-to-call number | All |
On price: Starter is $497 one time for five pages, Pro is $997 for ten pages plus ten city pages, and Agency is $1,997, starting with keyword research across your service area and usually ending at 30 to 60 pages. Pro's AI chat widget is free for 14 days, then $297 a month. Agency includes setup of an AI phone agent, free for 7 days and then $297 a month for up to 750 minutes, cancel any time. Hosting, maintenance and updates are included while you keep an AI agent, or $49 a month without one. See the pricing page for every line item.
How it works for a firm
- Ask for the demoGive your business name and what you do on the demo page, or call (903) 636-7511.
- Look at it on your phoneYou get a link to a site built for your business. Show it to whoever you show things to.
- Pick a package or walk awayStarter, Pro or Agency, one-time price. If it is not right, you owe nothing.
- Maurice writes and builds itEvery page written by hand, then launched on your domain, usually in 7 to 14 days for Starter.
Maurice will ask for your practice areas, bar admissions, the courts and counties you work in, attorney bios and photos, any disclosures your counsel requires, and the email that should receive intake forms. You approve every page before it goes live, which matters more for a firm than for most businesses. More detail is on how it works.
About the phone line: (903) 636-7511 is answered any hour by an AI receptionist. Ask about a website preview, or ask for Maurice or a person, and it transfers you to Maurice.
Ask for a free demo and see your firm on a real site before any engagement letter, invoice or deposit.