In the mix of client acquisition and working cases, web design may take a backseat in law firms. But, the value of this new front door to your business proves vital. Your web presence promotes your expertise, establishes you as an authority in the field and generates client leads.

Unfortunately, simply pasting something, anything onto the Internet fails to get results. Web development principles come into play. And, implementing these principles for best web design requires knowledge and skill.

While taking on the task of designing your website is possible, the DIY options prove limited in their abilities to get your firm noticed by search engines and therefore, prospective clients. Outsourcing this valuable task to legal marketing companies offers significant return on investment.

Traditionally, law firms outsource at least some marketing activities. However, the birth of cloud technology exposes firms large and small to the opportunity to hire marketing teams which specialize in legal sites. This allows fee-earners to concentrate on legal work rather than websites, SEO and blogging efforts all with reduced risk.

To find your best web design through outsourcing, consider these tips:

1. Know Your Strategy and the Tools to Get the Job Done
Knowing who you are and where you want to go is vital to any marketing campaign. And, your web presence plays an integral part in this plan. Take time to identify the strategies which work best in your area of practice and the tools necessary to accomplish them.

2. Assess Your Abilities to Accomplish the Task Internally
When looking to improve web design, you may employ people currently who possess the skills to help or take on the task. Utilizing these assets may get your web marketing campaign up and running more quickly at a seemingly lesser cost. However, remember that adding this responsibility to a current employee?s task list takes time from other important duties.

3. Weigh in the Costs
Reducing cost is second in a list of eight key drivers companies sight for outsourcing services, according to Grant Thornton, author of Outsourcing: Driving efficiency and growth. Asking for fee-earning hours to be spent on web design tasks proves an inefficient use of resources. Also, hiring an internal team or professional significantly raises expenses over outsourcing.

4. Determine Which Tasks You are Outsourcing
Tasks may exist within your online marketing strategy that you choose to do in-firm. By looking at the abilities within your firm and weighing the financial and time costs, you may determine that you need to outsource certain components such as social media engagement but not all of them.

5. Look for an Agency With SEO Knowledge
Search engines update algorithms hundreds of times per quarter which impacts the way websites rank. Reputable web professionals offer a current understanding of what search engines want and how to give it to them through search engine optimization (SEO). Look for developers with long-term solutions rather than flash-in-the-pan, smoke and mirror promises regarding search rankings.

6. Seek Examples of Quality Content
To attract, engage and retain clients, well-written, relevant articles, blogs and copy accompanied by professional images prove your ally. Be sure to read through examples of a potential hire?s work. Avoid companies presenting material with spelling and grammar errors, focused on the firm rather than the client, lacking in quality or depth, using unclear language or which sounds overly familiar.

7. Check out the User Experience
If your web design proves cumbersome or difficult to locate information, users will click away to a competitor?s site. Every interaction with your firm across the web and mobile devices as well as in person needs to recognize and cater to this fact for increased conversions. Checking out the responsiveness and clarity of page structure for an agency?s web designs proves a significant factor in whether to hire.

8. Research an Agency?s Credentials
In terms of credentials, talking with a professional developer?s previous clients offers valuable information on his or her work. Consider the types of clients and the longevity of those relationships as well as the analytics to support the positive outcomes of the work done. These results include SEO records of increasing traffic and client satisfaction ratings.

9. Interview Qualified Companies
The goals of web marketing imply the ability to communicate. Assessing an agency?s abilities in this area through a face-to-face interview is crucial. Do not skip this step. Skype and other virtual solutions accommodate distant, remote workers.

10. Pay Attention to Your Instincts
Outsourcing work to web professionals expands your team. And, clear communication and a good working relationship are critical to achieving the best outcomes. Trust your inner voice on red flags raised during the research or interview process.

Outsourcing web design work to legal marketing companies ensures the best web design for your law firm. With forethought and research, the relationship established is certain to benefit you both for years to come. And, your resulting web presence holds promising outcomes on several fronts.