What Prospective Clients See First
Before a potential client ever speaks with your firm, they head to a search engine and start scanning options.
After reviewing several websites, the attorneys they ultimately decide to contact are usually chosen based on a small number of digital touchpoints—often encountered in under a minute:
This is not a deep review. Most users are scanning, not studying. They’re looking for cues that help them decide whether to continue or move on.
At this stage, prospective clients aren’t evaluating your legal expertise in detail—they’re assessing clarity and confidence. If it’s not immediately clear who you help, what you do, and how to contact you, uncertainty sets in. And when uncertainty appears, people tend to keep searching.
The 5-Second Website Test
A helpful way to think about digital first impressions is the “5-second test.”
When someone lands on your website for the first time, they should be able to answer three questions almost immediately:
- ✓
Who does this firm help? - ✓
What types of matters do they handle? - ✓
How do I get in touch if this feels like a fit?
If those answers require scrolling, guessing, or clicking through multiple pages, many users won’t take the extra step—especially on mobile.
This doesn’t mean your site needs to be flashy or complex. In fact, clarity often performs better than cleverness. Straightforward language, visible contact options, and a clear description of your practice areas go a long way toward building trust early.
Try This Now: A Quick Digital First-Impression Check (Free)
You don’t need special tools or technical knowledge to get a sense of how your firm is coming across online. This is a simple exercise you can do in just a few minutes.
- ➊ Open an incognito or private browser window
- ➋ Search for your firm’s name (or a primary practice area + city)
- ➌ Look at how your site appears next to other firms in the search results
- ➍ Click through to your website
- ➎ View it on both desktop and mobile
As you review what you see, ask yourself:
- • Does my page title and description stand out, or blend in?
- • Is it immediately clear what this firm does and who it serves?
- • Does the language sound current and professional?
- • Is contact information easy to find without scrolling?
- • Does anything feel outdated, confusing, or unfinished?
Don’t worry about design preferences or whether you “like” the site—you can always make a note to revisit design later. For this exercise, you’re simply looking for friction: anything that causes hesitation, uncertainty, or extra effort. Even small moments of confusion can be enough to send a potential client back to the search results.
Try This Now: A Quick Digital First-Impression Check (Free)
You don’t need special tools or technical knowledge to get a sense of how your firm is coming across online. This is a simple exercise you can do in just a few minutes.
- ➊ Open an incognito or private browser window
- ➋ Search for your firm’s name (or a primary practice area + city)
- ➌ Look at how your site appears(next to other firms in the search results)
- ➍ Click through to your website
- ➎ View it on both desktop and mobile
As you review what you see, ask yourself:
- • Does my page title and description stand out, or blend in?
- • Is it immediately clear what this firm does and who it serves?
- • Does the language sound current and professional?
- • Is contact information easy to find without scrolling?
- • Does anything feel outdated, confusing, or unfinished?
Don’t worry about design preferences or whether you “like” the site—you can always make a note to revisit design later. For this exercise, you’re simply looking for friction: anything that causes hesitation, uncertainty, or extra effort. Even small moments of confusion can be enough to send a potential client back to the search results.
Common First-Impression Gaps We See with Law Firms
Across many law firm websites, we tend to see similar issues come up again and again:
- ⚠️ Generic page titles or descriptions that don’t clearly describe the firm or its services
- ⚠️ Homepage messaging that’s broad but not specific
- ⚠️ Buried contact information, especially on mobile
- ⚠️ Outdated language or visuals that don’t reflect the firm’s current positioning
None of these issues are unusual, and most are relatively easy to address once they’re identified. The challenge is that they often go unnoticed because firms are so close to their own content.
Across many law firm websites, we tend to see similar issues come up again and again:
- ⚠️ Generic page titles or descriptions that don’t clearly describe the firm or its services
- ⚠️ Homepage messaging that’s broad but not specific
- ⚠️ Buried contact information, especially on mobile
- ⚠️ Outdated language or visuals that don’t reflect the firm’s current positioning
None of these issues are unusual, and most are relatively easy to address once they’re identified. The challenge is that they often go unnoticed because firms are so close to their own content.
Why This Matters for Conversion
Traffic alone doesn’t generate inquiries. It creates opportunities.
Visibility brings people to your site, but clarity and trust determine whether they stay, engage, and reach out. When those elements work together, the path from visitor to potential client feels natural and intuitive.
When they don’t, even high-quality traffic can stall.
This is why digital marketing isn’t just about being seen—it’s about being understood quickly and confidently.
What We’ll Cover Next
Now it’s your turn! Take a fresh look at your website’s first impression. A few minutes of observation can reveal more than you might expect.
This post focused on digital first impressions because they’re foundational. In upcoming articles, we’ll take a closer look at other areas that influence how law firms are evaluated online, including:
- →
Google search and local presence - →
Mobile experience and usability - →
Trust signals and credibility indicators - →
How small improvements can compound over time
Each post will continue to include practical checks you can do yourself, so you always have a clear sense of where your firm stands.
“Now go forth my pupils!”