website 101: build and rebuild

April 11-13, 2011www.techshow.com

Session Title

Presenters{Name}{Name}

April 11-13, 2011April 11-13, 2011www.techshow.comwww.techshow.com

PRESENTED BY THE

Website 101: Build and Website 101: Build and RebuildRebuild

PresentersPresentersCourtney Ward-ReichardCourtney Ward-Reichard

Steve MatthewsSteve Matthews


Overview: Website Build & Rebuild

• Domain Name Decisions• Website Hosting• Content Management Decisions• Planning and Outsourcing• Design Best Practices

• Content Best Practices


Domain Names

How to choose your URL?– Shorter names are easier to remember

• Less Named Partners – 1 or 2• Shorter Acronyms• Keyword-driven domains

– .COM domains continue to dominate• When clients guess: they guess .com• Lock down .NET & .ORG


Keyword Domains

Example: texastaxattorneys.com

Pros:– Strong factor in Google Searches– Good match for firms that limit their practice areas

ex. boutiques, solo and small firms– Well suited to blogs and microsites

Cons:– Not a great fit for mid-sized and larger firms – at

least not as its principal website– Need to acquire from third party? $$$


The Firm Name Changes: Must your domain?

Be proactive: plan for this day!– Less Partners represented in the firm domain

reduces the risk.

Avoid changing domains if at all possible– Domain Age is a weighted factor in Google

Searches– 301 Redirects (mapping from old domain to new

domain) will help, but is an inexact science.


How to change domains properly

Use Google Webmaster Tools – Register both the old and new domains

– Use the Domain redirect feature

Old domain: – Use an .htaccess file to map ALL pages to their location

on the new domain (301 Permanent Redirects).

– Redirect this domain for at least one year.

New domain: – Register a site map file with GW Tools

– Boost the temporary crawl rate in GW Tools

– Goal: get these pages indexed fast!


Website Hosting

Hosting companies rent you an online home.

Hosting industry is very competitive– Most people who writes about website hosting

have a financial stake. – Ask friends or colleagues for referrals– Check out support forums for ‘clues’

Most law firms host on shared hosting plans– Means sharing that computer with up to

200 different websites– Moving web hosts is not a big hurdle.


Factors for Choosing a Host

Emergency SupportWho picks up the phone when your website is down?

Multiple domain supportCan you host more than one website for the same price?

Bandwidth or Storage RestrictionsAny restrictions in traffic and data storage?

C-panel AccessMakes support far less technical. Great for DIY websites!

Data backupsHow often? How many locations?


Content Management Systems (CMS)

• Required Building Block– CMS Separates Content from Design – website

development becomes modular:• Content is isolated in its own database;• Design is isolated into a small set of standardized templates;• New functionality is isolated in module plugins.

• Editing or creating new content is instant• Easier to move, back-up, and re-design your website in

the future!


Comparing CMS Products

• Big 3: Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla– Percentage of installed CMS products:

• Wordpress (55%)• Joomla (11%)• Drupal (6.1%)

• All three are primarily built for Linux (a.k.a. Lamp Stack)• All have a large developer support community


CMS Template Development

Theme Templates - Build or Buy– Cost effective tactic for DIY web design

– Each CMS has a community of designers producing free and low cost templates.

– Experiment with free, but pay for premium!• Premium themes average $75-150. Great value.

Find the CMS “Theme Gardens”– Wordpress: http://www.themegarden.com

– Drupal: http://themegarden.org/drupal6

– Joomla: http://www.templateplaza.com/


CMS & Website Security

Open Source CMS software are a starting framework:– Drupal: Limit the ability to create new accounts

– Joomla: Reduce access privileges for users

– WordPress: Limit login attempts; relocate the login page

• Use complex passwords• Deny Search Engines from indexing the Administration

pages (robots.txt)• Register your website with Google Webmaster Tools

– Warns of any kind of malware problems


Website Content

Three Goals:

• Easy to Navigate

• Expresses Who You Are

• Attracts Clients You Seek


The Creative Brief

• Strategic plan

• All levels of personnel

• All stages of the project


Who is Your Audience?

• Solo practitioner?

• Plaintiff or defense?

• Criminal or civil?

• Specialized or general?

• Individual or corporate?


The Brand

Distinguish yourself….

…but remain true to who you are.

BRANDS ARE NOT ASPIRATIONAL!


Working with Vendors

• Determine appropriate level

• Clarify:– scope of work– costs– responsibility to provide information

for design and content


Best Practices: Size

• Need to design for small and large monitors:– Design core fits small screen PLUS– Background space strategy


Best Practices: URLs

• Why?– search engines– keep navigation simple

• Use a re-write module:

http://www.firmwebsite.com/office_detail.aspx?Id=10001

http://www.firmwebsite.com/offices/chicago/


Best Practices: Photos

• Uniform

• Professional

• Approachable

• Recent!


More Best Practices

• Color contrast

• Law firm logo

• White space: more is better

• Text navigation


Best Practices: Browsers

• Expansion of Browsers

• Mobile and Tablet Use

• Cross-browser Testing


What to Avoid

Flash Animations– Incompatible with iPhone and iPad– Invisible to search engines


What to Avoid

Background Audio– It’s annoying!– Increases “bounce”– Does the user want this?


What to Avoid

Video Overlays– uninteresting when repeated– annoying


What to Avoid

Pop-Up Windows


What to Avoid

Scaled Images– Re-size in vector graphics

applications, not the browser– Preserves crisp images


Content!

• Last stage of the design process – and the one that takes the longest

• Careful planning and adequate resources are critical!


Contact Information

• Call to action – who is the best person to answer my questions?

• Include email addresses

• Include v-card link

• Include social media and blog links


Indexes: Homepage or Secondary?

• Challenge for larger websites

• What can be moved?– Practice-based publications– Practice sub-groups– List of offices

• Goal: flat architecture and avoiding over-classification


Keep it Fresh!

• Dynamic content is critical…– search engines– return visitors

• …and you need a plan:– latest publications and firm news– blog posts– Twitter stream


Questions?

Steve [email protected]

Courtney [email protected]


Save the Date Save the Date

ABA TECHSHOW 2012ABA TECHSHOW 2012

March 29-31, 2012March 29-31, 2012

Hilton ChicagoHilton Chicago

website 101: build and rebuild

Technology

website content

website build

old domain

firm domain

design website development

new content

domain names

domain redirect