Law Firm Website Content and Intake Checklist
A planning checklist for law firm pages, attorney bios, intake forms, accessibility, privacy, technical SEO, and the approvals needed before launch.
Law firm website content has two jobs before it ever reaches a search engine. It must help a visitor understand whether the firm handles the problem, and it must give that person a clear, appropriate way to make contact. Vague practice pages and oversized intake forms make both jobs harder.
This checklist covers content planning and technical implementation. It is not legal advice. The firm and its qualified advisers must approve statements about services, results, jurisdictions, credentials, confidentiality, advertising rules, privacy, and required disclaimers.
Start with the visitor's decision
A person arriving from search may know the legal issue but not the name of the practice area. Organize navigation and page language around recognizable needs, then explain the legal category in plain terms. Each page should tell the visitor:
- which matters the firm considers;
- where the firm practices and any important limits;
- who at the firm handles the work;
- what information is useful for an initial contact;
- how to call or submit an inquiry; and
- what the visitor should expect after contacting the office.
Avoid claims that outrun the firm's evidence or professional-responsibility review. The American Bar Association's Model Rule 7.1 addresses false or misleading communications about a lawyer's services. State rules control and may differ, so the website review must use the rules that apply to the firm.
Practice-area page checklist
- Name the matter in language prospective clients use.
- Explain the types of situations the page covers without promising an outcome.
- Identify jurisdiction or geographic limits when they affect whether the firm can help.
- Describe the general engagement process without presenting a universal timeline.
- Link to the attorney or team responsible for that work.
- Use a specific contact action, such as "Request an initial consultation," if that matches the firm's process.
- Add a last-reviewed date and a named content owner inside the firm's editorial records.
One thorough page for a real practice area is stronger than a set of thin pages that swap city or service names. Location pages need facts that matter to the reader, such as office or service information the firm can verify. They should not imply an office where none exists.
Attorney biography checklist
Attorney biographies often receive high-intent visits. Treat them as working pages rather than ceremonial resumes.
- Use the attorney's current name, title, photo, and contact path.
- List admissions and jurisdictions in the form the firm approves.
- Verify education, credentials, memberships, languages, awards, and dates.
- Describe areas of work with links to the relevant practice pages.
- Explain the person's role in terms a prospective client can understand.
- Remove departed attorneys promptly and redirect old biography URLs when a suitable destination exists.
The website team should not infer expertise, certification, or representative results from incomplete source material. Ask the attorney or designated reviewer to approve the final biography and record that approval.
Design the intake path around the first conversation
A website form is usually an inquiry channel, not a full case-management interview. Request enough information to route and respond to the inquiry. Detailed facts and sensitive documents can move through an approved process after the firm decides how to proceed.
| Field | Planning question |
|---|---|
| Name and contact method | Which fields are required to respond, and can the person state a safe contact preference? |
| General matter type | Can a short controlled list route the inquiry without asking for a legal conclusion? |
| Location | What minimum location information is needed for jurisdiction or routing? |
| Opposing or related parties | Should conflict information use a separate approved workflow rather than an ordinary email? |
| Free-text message | What guidance and length limit will reduce unnecessary sensitive details? |
| File upload | Is upload necessary at first contact, and where will the file be scanned, stored, and deleted? |
Place the firm's approved notice near the submit button where a visitor can read it before sending information. The firm decides the language about confidentiality, attorney-client relationships, deadlines, and emergencies. The developer makes the notice readable and ensures the submission result is clear.
Plan delivery and failure handling
A form that displays "success" should create a durable record or confirm that the destination accepted the message. Email alone can fail because of filtering, DNS changes, provider limits, or a full mailbox. Use server-side validation, spam controls that do not block keyboard users, delivery monitoring, and a documented fallback.
Test the intake route on mobile and with assistive technology. The person submitting should receive a useful confirmation that states what happens next without promising a response the firm cannot meet. Staff need an alert when delivery fails and a way to review submissions without sharing mailbox credentials.
Accessibility review
People may need legal information while under time pressure or while using a screen reader, keyboard, magnification, or voice input. The U.S. Department of Justice publishes website accessibility guidance for businesses open to the public. The W3C recommends using the current WCAG 2 standard when developing or updating accessibility policies.
At minimum, review heading order, link purpose, keyboard operation, focus visibility, form labels, error messages, contrast, text resizing, image alternatives, and document accessibility. Automated scanning helps locate some problems. Keyboard and screen-reader testing find issues that scanners miss.
Privacy and analytics checklist
- Inventory every form field, tracking script, call-tracking tool, chat widget, and embedded service.
- Document where submissions go, who can access them, and how long each system retains them.
- Collect the minimum data needed for the stated intake purpose.
- Configure analytics and advertising tags according to the firm's approved consent and privacy approach.
- Keep private inquiry details out of analytics event labels, URLs, and application logs.
- Review vendor contracts and settings with the firm's privacy and security advisers.
Technical SEO and launch review
- Give every indexable page a unique title, description, H1, and canonical URL.
- Link practice pages to relevant attorneys and link biographies back to relevant services.
- Redirect replaced URLs one-to-one where a genuine equivalent exists.
- Keep drafts, search results, internal thank-you pages, and private portals out of search indexes.
- Validate structured data against the visible page and omit reviews or locations the firm cannot verify.
- Test the XML sitemap, robots rules, error pages, social previews, and mobile layout.
Ownership after launch
Assign a person to each practice page, attorney biography, office detail, disclaimer, and intake workflow. Set review dates based on how often the facts change. The maintenance plan should cover software updates, backups, uptime, form delivery, broken links, accessibility checks, and content changes.
Terry Hunt Dev provides Next.js development services for sites that need clear service information, dependable intake paths, maintainable publishing, and careful technical implementation. If your firm is planning a new site or repairing an existing intake flow, request a law firm website consultation. I can help turn the firm's approved content and requirements into a site the internal team can operate.