Lawyers are good at asking questions and still get surprised by web projects, mostly because nobody talks about the boring parts: who holds the domain, who reviews the wording and what a small change costs in six months. Use this list on any designer, including us. A good answer is specific; a vague one is information too.
Ownership questions
Ask who registers the domain and in whose name, and ask for that in writing. Your firm name is part of your professional identity, so the registration should list the firm, with an email address the firm controls. Ask what happens if you leave: can you take the domain, the written content and the images with you.
Ask where the site is hosted and whether backups exist. If the answer is "my own server, I’m not sure," keep asking. For us, the site lives on managed hosting with backups, HTTPS and uptime checks included, and the domain stays registered to you.
Questions about wording and review
- ✓Who writes the page copy — ours is drafted for you from your answers, never pasted from templates
- ✓Do I approve every page before launch — you should, and ask how revisions work and how many rounds are included
- ✓How are practice areas described — ask to see them in plain language, not statute headings
- ✓Can I remove a claim later — wording should be editable without a new project
Questions about what the site can honestly do
Be wary of anyone who promises rankings, a flood of cases or a number of calls. Search results depend on competition, location and time, and no designer controls them. A reasonable promise is a clear site, a working inquiry form and essential search setup so that search engines can read the pages properly.
Ask what the inquiry form does with a message and where it goes. For a law firm, it matters that submissions arrive in an inbox you control and that the form says plainly it is not a client relationship. Ask who decides that sentence. Your attorney should.
Questions about cost and support
- ✓What is the one-time price and what is monthly — ours is a one-time build plus optional Website Care at $30/month
- ✓What is not included — ask about photography, stock images and third-party tools
- ✓What do small edits cost afterward — ask for a number or a monthly allowance, not "we will see"
- ✓How long is the contract — avoid terms that lock the site to the builder
What to expect, honestly
- ✓We do not give legal or ethics advice — your attorney reviews all claims against bar rules
- ✓We do not promise search rankings — monthly SEO is an optional add-on with no ranking promise
- ✓We do not build client document areas — the site collects inquiries, not case files
One example of what your site could look like
This is one sample we designed. Yours is built around your business, your photos and your words, and we have more examples if you want to compare directions.
How it works
1. Consultation
We learn your services, customers and goals, in English or Spanish.
2. We write and design
We draft the words and build the site around your business.
3. 10 revision rounds
You review and request changes until it is right.
4. Launch and care
We launch, then Website Care keeps it hosted, backed up, checked weekly and A/B tested.
Keep reading
Who owns your website · What to check on a cheap website · Law firm website mistakes · Websites for business law firms
