---
title: "Law Firm Website Design Built for Intake | Kihan Marketing"
description: "Law firm website design that answers what a worried caller needs first: can you help, what will it cost, who do I speak to. See what the site should hold."
url: https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-website-design/
published: 2026-09-30
updated: 2026-10-21
---

# Law Firm Website Design

Practice areas, fees and attorneys, answered in the first screen

Law firm website design, done well, tells a worried visitor what they need to know in the first screen. It is for firms that want their site to bring in matters, not just look the part.

Many law firm websites are built to reassure the partners. Marble columns, a skyline, a paragraph about a tradition of excellence. But the person arriving has been in a car accident, been served papers or been arrested. They need to know three things, fast. Can this firm handle my problem? What will it cost? Who do I speak to?

A site that answers those in the first screen signs matters. One that opens with a mission statement sends them back to the results page. And the firm paid for one of the costliest clicks in search to get them there.

## What a law firm site has to answer

### Which problems this firm actually handles

A law firm site should give each practice area its own page, not a list. Someone with a custody dispute should land on a page about custody. Not on a page that lists eight practice areas with a paragraph each.

### What it costs, and how the fee works

A law firm site should explain how its fees work: contingency, hourly, flat fee or retainer, and what the first consultation costs. Not knowing how fees work stops people from calling a lawyer at all. A firm that explains its fee structure plainly gets more calls than one that waits to be asked, even without quoting a number.

### Who the attorney is

Bar admissions, jurisdictions, years in practice, the kinds of matters handled, education, and a real photograph. People hire a person, not a firm. Many visitors to a legal site read the attorney bios, yet those pages are often the least thought through.

### How to start, in one step

A phone number that dials on tap, a short intake form, and a plain note on what happens next and how fast. Someone in distress will not fill in a fourteen field questionnaire.

### The disclaimers, done properly

An attorney advertising notice. Past results language wherever prior outcomes are mentioned. Jurisdiction statements. And a clear note that contacting the firm does not create an attorney client relationship. Your state's rules decide which of these are required. All of them can sit on the page without making it read like a contract.

## What usually goes wrong

- **One services page for eight practice areas.** It rarely ranks for any of them, and it cannot answer anyone.
- **Bios with no substance.** A name, a headshot and a law school are not a set of credentials.
- **No fee information at all.** A common gap, and an expensive one.
- **Intake forms built for the firm's convenience.** Every extra required field means fewer finished forms. In legal, the caller is already overwhelmed.
- **Stock imagery of gavels and columns.** Every competitor has the same photos. They say nothing, and they signal a template.
- **Testimonials added without checking the rules.** In several states this creates a bar problem. It always risks confidentiality.
- **Nothing measurable.** No call tracking and no form tracking, so nobody can say which practice area pages bring in matters.

## How the build runs

### Discovery

Practice areas, jurisdictions and fee structures. Which matters the firm wants more of, and which it wants fewer of. And which state bar rules apply. The page set is decided here, because [law firm SEO](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-seo/) depends on it.

### Structure

URLs, internal links, and structured data for a legal services business. Structured data is code that tells search engines what kind of business this is. Then the templates for practice area pages and attorney bios. Getting this right lets the firm add a practice area or an office later without a rebuild.

### Design and build

Practice area pages, attorney bios, fee explanations, intake paths, and the notices your state's rules require, placed where they are easy to read. Fast on a phone, because that is where urgent legal searches happen.

### Content and launch

Real photos of the attorneys and the office. Copy reviewed by the firm against the bar rules that govern it. Then launch, with call and form tracking in place, so each matter can be traced to the page it came from.

## Design and search are one project

Law firm web design and law firm SEO are one project, because a site that ranks but gets no calls wastes some of the costliest clicks in search. A site that persuades but cannot be found has no one to persuade. Any agency that quotes for a law firm site without asking about practice areas, jurisdictions and bar rules is quoting for a brochure.

You may not need a new site. Can search engines crawl the one you have? Can it carry a page for each practice area? Can you edit it? If so, it is usually cheaper to keep it and do the search work on it. A rebuild makes sense when the site cannot do those things, or when people reach the contact step and stop.

Kihan Marketing has not built a site for a law firm yet. What we bring is the method on this page, applied to your practice areas and your state's rules.

## Questions law firms ask about website design

### How much does a law firm website cost?

The cost of a law firm website depends on how many practice areas and offices need their own pages. The number of attorney bios matters too, and whether the current site can be kept. Keeping a sound site and doing the search work on it is usually cheaper than a rebuild. See [pricing](https://kihanmarketing.com/pricing/) or ask for a [free marketing audit](https://kihanmarketing.com/marketing-audit/).

### How do you make a law firm website?

A law firm website starts with discovery: practice areas, jurisdictions, fee structures and the state bar rules that apply. Next comes the structure, with one page per practice area and templates for attorney bios. Attorney website design and the build follow, fast on a phone. Launch comes with call and form tracking in place.

### How long does it take to build a law firm website?

The timeline for a law firm website depends on how many practice areas, offices and attorney bios need pages. It also depends on how quickly the firm reviews copy against its bar rules. Real photos of the attorneys and the office also take a shoot. Discovery sets the page set, so it sets the schedule too.

### How does a law firm website bring in clients?

A law firm website brings in clients by answering three questions in the first screen. Can this firm handle my problem? What will it cost? Who do I speak to? Then it offers one easy step: a number that dials on tap and a short form. Lawyer website design that hides fees or intake loses the call.

**Related:** [law firm marketing](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/), [law firm SEO](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-seo/), [website development](https://kihanmarketing.com/services/web-development/).

## Keep reading

- [Law Firms](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/): SEO, websites and lead generation for law firms, within your state bar's advertising rules.
- [Law Firm SEO](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-seo/): Practice area pages and the map pack, written inside state bar advertising rules.
- [Website Development](https://kihanmarketing.com/services/web-development/): Websites on WordPress and Next.js, with SEO built in from the start.
