Law firm website navigation: by problem, not department

Key takeaways

Law firm website navigation works when it follows clients' problems, such as 'Buying a home' or 'Divorce', rather than department names such as 'Private client'. Split by individuals and businesses if both are served, make fees and the people who will help easy to find, and make sure price information required by the SRA transparency rules is clearly linked.

• Organise services by client problem, in plain words.
• Separate 'For individuals' and 'For businesses' where useful.
• Link fees and the team from the main menu.
• Make SRA-required price information easy to find.

Why do law firm menus confuse clients?

Law firm menus often mirror the firm's departments: 'Private client', 'Dispute resolution', 'Corporate and commercial'. Clients do not use those words; they search for 'making a will', 'neighbour dispute' or 'selling my business'. When labels do not match, clients guess or leave to search elsewhere.

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How should services be organised?

Group services by client type and problem. Many firms use 'For individuals' and 'For businesses' as the top split, then name the problems beneath in plain words. Keep legal terms for the page content, where they can be explained.

• For individuals: buying or selling a home, wills, divorce, disputes.
• For businesses: contracts, employment, property, disputes.
• Plain names first; legal terms explained on the page.
• A section menu within each area.

• Audience-based navigation: should menus split by customer?
• Section navigation: help visitors move within a topic

What do the SRA transparency rules mean for navigation?

The Solicitors Regulation Authority's transparency rules require firms to publish price and service information for certain services, such as residential conveyancing, probate and some employment claims, and to display it prominently. They also require information on complaints handling. Linking fees clearly from the menu and service pages helps meet them. Check the current SRA rules for your services.

• Should 'Pricing' be in your website menu?

Why should people be easy to find?

Clients choosing a solicitor want to know who will handle their matter. A 'Team' or 'Our people' link in the menu, with profiles linked from each service page, builds confidence. Profiles should name the services each person handles, so clients can move from a person to the service and back.

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What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a high-street firm's menu has 'Private client', 'Litigation' and 'Commercial', and fees are linked only from the footer. A client looking to sell a house cannot see where conveyancing sits. Renaming to plain problems under 'For individuals' and adding 'Fees' to the main menu fixes both.

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Law firm navigation checklist

• Services named by client problem.
• Individuals and businesses separated where useful.
• Fees linked from the main menu.
• SRA price and complaints information easy to find.
• Team profiles linked from services.
• Contact and enquiry action in the header.

• Accountancy website navigation clients can follow
• Menu labels: words visitors understand at a glance

Next step

List the words clients used in your last ten enquiries and compare them with your menu.